Picked up by Balboa yesterday -- Got questions.

[rgranger]

Hey All

Yesterday I finalized the purchase and pick up of my new-2-me Balboa 26.

It was advertised as needing a new spreader bracket and she would be ready to cruise.... but at the price he was asking, I suspected there was more to the story...

... and my suspicions were confirmed.

Anyway, the keel is in need of some serious attention and I'll need to drop it and repair it. There is a chunk missing from the leading edge and there is a lot of rust breaking through the paint. But that is not what my question is about. I went into the cabin to get a good look a the pivot pin and it looks like there has been quite a lot of work done (amateurish) to the keel trunk....

(see pics)

Questions:

1) Has the P.O. glassed over the lock down mechanism? I was unable to find anything that looked like the lock down pin as described in the owners manual. If so, what should I do about it? Recommendations on how to reverse this? If not, am I looking in the wrong place?

2) The P.O. definitely glassed over the pivot pin. Is this a common solution to the leaking pivot pin problem? I think I'd rather use a rubber washer/gasket but if that is not a good solution I guess I need to know that.

3) Have any of you here removed the keel from a Balboa 26 before? I've done it on a MacGregor 21 before but that keel only weighs 300#. This one is four times as massive so I'm feeling a bit intimidated.

 

[CalebD]

Rob,

I saw you posed this question to the Balboa 26' group but decided not to pepper your group with all of my drivel.

I can understand wanting to have access to the pivot pin for the swing keel on your B26. Glassing over this pin seems a bit short sighted to me. For one thing, even stainless steel (SS) will develop crevice corrosion when it is wet and deprived of air. The bolts on my center board pivot pin are exposed and the pin does not leak.

Regarding the lock down mechanism: the swing keel on the Balboa weighs around 1200#s (we think). The center board on my T27 weighs about 100#s and has no lock down mechanism. Is the lock down mechanism there mostly to protect the trunk from getting banged by that heavy swing keel? I would think that for most circumstances (lake and coastal sailing) you would not need or want to lock the keel in the down position. A hard grounding with the swing keel locked in place might cause damage to the trunk from the torque on the locking mechanism, rather than leaving the swing keel free to freely rise up in the event of a grounding.
For a Gulf Stream crossing to the Bahamas it is probably a good idea to have a locking mechanism but for more casual sailing I doubt it is necessary.

Good luck wrasslin' with that heavy swing keel while you are patching it up.

 

[rgranger]

Rob,

I saw you posed this question to the Balboa 26' group but decided not to pepper your group with all of my drivel.

I can understand wanting to have access to the pivot pin for the swing keel on your B26. Glassing over this pin seems a bit short sighted to me. For one thing, even stainless steel (SS) will develop crevice corrosion when it is wet and deprived of air. The bolts on my center board pivot pin are exposed and the pin does not leak.

Regarding the lock down mechanism: the swing keel on the Balboa weighs around 1200#s (we think). The center board on my T27 weighs about 100#s and has no lock down mechanism. Is the lock down mechanism there mostly to protect the trunk from getting banged by that heavy swing keel? I would think that for most circumstances (lake and coastal sailing) you would not need or want to lock the keel in the down position. A hard grounding with the swing keel locked in place might cause damage to the trunk from the torque on the locking mechanism, rather than leaving the swing keel free to freely rise up in the event of a grounding.
For a Gulf Stream crossing to the Bahamas it is probably a good idea to have a locking mechanism but for more casual sailing I doubt it is necessary.

Good luck wrasslin' with that heavy swing keel while you are patching it up.

Hey Caleb

Good to hear from you.

My thinking on this is the same as yours. When I'm done with this chore I'm going to set the pivot pin up the same as it was on my Mac, w/a rubber washer. I thought about the SS corrosion thing when I saw the top was glassed over. And as you said, it is not always a good idea to lock down the keel., especially sailing in thin water. There are those that think otherwise but I'm with you on this one.

But I have locked mine down from time to time, especially if I see a squall line on the horizon. And if I ever do make that gulf crossing, you can bet I'll lock her down then as well.

I found a guy on Craigs List selling an engine hoist for only $75. I would need that to wrestle this keel ... and when I'm done, I'll could put it back up on Craigs List. Maybe I'll get a $100 for it

I also have found a place that will rent to me sandblasting equipment for $250 for a 24hr period. But I can buy what I need for $300 so I'm not sure I want to rent. I'd rather find a yard that will do the keel repair for me and I have a call out to a marina nearby. Still waiting to hear back.

If I do it myself I need to build a jig to support the keel and figure a way to lift this boat up on blocks... and either rent or buy $400 in equipment and spend another $200 in epoxy and other materials.

So if I can find a yard that will do it for $800-ish, I'll pay them to do it for me.

I sold my Mac to a guy near Annapolis. He is married and has a 2 year old daughter. It should be a perfect sized boat for a family that size.

See you on the water,

r