MacGregor 1981 Venture 22 Keel issue

[promano68]

Never been sailing and have acquired a V22 for nothing except cost of title.

As I have no clue how to even raise and set the sail, I have been doing some research. After cleaning it is in excellent condition. However, I read some horror stories about keels dropping right off while on the water and took a look under mine. The keel is rusted and crusty and I can pull chunks of rusted debris off the plate. I have seen in a few different place where owners or previous owners have cleared the keel down to the plate and either coated with resin or in one instance put a couple coats of paint and reattached it. Most were many years old so I did not ask and they did not tell how they made out.

I know there is a right way to do it, but we have a small 1,600 lake where I rented a spot and planned to put in next week. Would it be safe to take this short cut for a couple months and then have a winter project? We will mostly be using the motor as I will be learning to sail at an easy pace. Anyone ever know an owner who did this and survived?

 

[Joe]

If you really want to learn to sail.... leave the motor on the beach. You need the keel to counter balance the sail and keep the boat from slipping sideways..... If you have to leave It down all the time because you don't trust the hoist mechanism... that's okay.... but don't sail it with the keel/centerboard up at this point in time.

 

[promano68]

Thanks. No intention of putting it in the lake without the keel, but also don't want to drop it to the bottom! Lmao. Question is, is it safe to use the plate with it rebuilding with epoxy and F/G? I won't be trailering back and forth. Looking for some options that are safe until winter when I can get it in the garage and build it up.

 

[promano68]

"Without rebuilding" (typo)

 

[JohnCTV21]

Check the keel pivot bolt, and the keel winch cable bolt.

If they are in good condition, you probably won't loose your keel.

The down side is the longer you wait, the worse it will get.

At the minimum, clean it up and paint it with some rust killing paint.

The rust can get bad enough to wedge the keel into the slot and you run the risk of it swelling and cracking the keel slot.

I just finished redoing mine in a '75 V21, the hardest part was moving the boat far enough off the trailer to drop the keel.

If your just going to do the quick, clean and paint, you can get it done in a weekend.

 

[promano68]

That looks like the course right now. I've been searching for local place with a lift, but no dice. Central PA mountains where I am don't have many sailing spots. Need to get it lifted as you said.

 

[JohnCTV21]

I just built a over sized saw horse, dropped the front of the trailer all the way down, stuck the support under the transom, then jacked it up with a floor jack at the front of the keel trunk. No lift required.

If you were closer I would have you bring it up, I have everything needed now

*Bring a bottle of scotch and I'll give you sailing lessons too *

 

[promano68]

Thanks. The guy who talked into keeping the boat has a sailboat repair place, but it so happened I fired a kid who likes to talk on his phone all day and it was boyfriend of his granddaughter!!! I had no idea there was a connection like that. It took me a year to get the title after I tried to have the guy just take it and then the kid was employed for a couple weeks and was terminated right when I was taking it over to check it out. Brutal. I didn't this kind of drama was possible!! Anyway on the day I was to go over the old man's son called and told me to rehire his daughters boyfriend. Rather than piss 25-30,000.00 on a worthless laborer I'd buy another boat first!

 

[topcat0399]

Thanks. The guy who talked into keeping the boat has a sailboat repair place, but it so happened I fired a kid who likes to talk on his phone all day and it was boyfriend of his granddaughter!!! I had no idea there was a connection like that. It took me a year to get the title after I tried to have the guy just take it and then the kid was employed for a couple weeks and was terminated right when I was taking it over to check it out. Brutal. I didn't this kind of drama was possible!! Anyway on the day I was to go over the old man's son called and told me to rehire his daughters boyfriend. Rather than piss 25-30,000.00 on a worthless laborer I'd buy another boat first!

Theres a kid that talks on the phone??? I can't get one on the phone - they always want to text. Makes me crazy.

Is your keel all iron or is it a metal core with fiberglass covering?

Anyway, you have to evaluate the keel somehow. Just because its ugly and things are dropping off it doesn't mean you can't sail the boat for a while.

Take JohnCTV21s advise and inspect the pivot bolt and, keel winch, keel cable, and where the cable attached to to the keel.

I can see my keel cable attachment by looking down through the scupper that the cable runs in.

Find a way to get a hydraulic jack under the front of the keel while its on the trailer and lift up and down and try and see how much play is in the pivot bolt and make a judgement call. Or you can take the pivot bolt out while you have the jack under there and have a look at it.

Crawl under the trailer and use a flashlight and try and look up into the keel trunk and try and see whats what.

Unwind the cable off from the keel winch back into the cockpit and look over as much of the cable as you can. Wear leather gloves when handling the cable! Keep it weighted and reel it back on the winch nicely.

You will need an assistant to get some of this done.

Or....you can splash the boat - winch the keel down (or leave it up) and take your chances. If you leave it up - you are going to need a motor....

There is a lot of info on the internet about rehabbing a swing keel.

We learned to sail by hoisting one - that approach isn't for everyone.

 

[sailndays]

Please check the Keel Bolt and the mounting for it under the hull. To much play e.g.: clunk, clunk, tells me the mounting holes need to be rebuilt/replaced as well. I passed on a 22' because I didn't feel competent to pull the keel, fix the keel bolt mounts and safely put it back together.