No worries...
Tom, Congratulations on getting the keel out. I had great success getting mine out as well. However, if you do not drink regularly, please start as it will aid your spirits immeasurably as you try to get the damned thing, on new casters, back in. The pin is designed to float freely - held in place by the casters; i.e. it moves in the casters freely, and the keel moves around it freely as well. It is this property that leads to some of the other posts concerned with pin wear and keel wear around the pin itself. Like you, when I lowered my keel, removed it from the boat, and finished my two month chiropractic regimen, I found my free floating pin firmly frozen in the keel. After bouncing it around with some people, the general, common sense consensus was leave well enough alone. As long as it rotated freely within the casters, there was no harm in having it frozen within the keel - indeed, being frozen eliminated concerns about pin and keel wear. My advice is that, if upon close inspection, you see no signs of corrosion or wear to either the pin or keel, send that $50 replacement pin back to Catalina Direct for a refund. SJK SENDS
