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Keel Cable Replacement.
Hi, I just did this job on my Venture 21. It's really not too bad. 1. Disconnect the cable from the winch. Also look the winch over pretty well, they're not too expensive to replace. 2. Lift the rear of the boat off the trailer. I used a hydraulic jack and a bunch of wooden blocks. I also built two "ghetto boat jacks" out of 2X4's. You have to lift the rear end of the boat about 3 - 3.5 feet before the keel cable bolt comes out of the keel trunk. 3. Make sure that the boat is WELL SUPPORTED! Then crawl underneath and start doing battle with the cable bolt. Mine was a mess, it took about 3-4 days of cajoling before it finally gave up. The original bolt is stainless steel - mine had been replaced with mild steel and had rusted horribly into the hole in the keel. I basically took a lot of "P-Blaster" and some hammering with a 5lb club hammer before it started moving. 4. Go to West Marine (or other marine store) and use their nicopress tool to fashion a new cable. Mine was 5/16 stainless steel cable with double swages and a SS loop thingie (whats the correct name for this?) Get a new bolt whilst you are at the store and put it back together. .-=gp=-.
Hi, I just did this job on my Venture 21. It's really not too bad. 1. Disconnect the cable from the winch. Also look the winch over pretty well, they're not too expensive to replace. 2. Lift the rear of the boat off the trailer. I used a hydraulic jack and a bunch of wooden blocks. I also built two "ghetto boat jacks" out of 2X4's. You have to lift the rear end of the boat about 3 - 3.5 feet before the keel cable bolt comes out of the keel trunk. 3. Make sure that the boat is WELL SUPPORTED! Then crawl underneath and start doing battle with the cable bolt. Mine was a mess, it took about 3-4 days of cajoling before it finally gave up. The original bolt is stainless steel - mine had been replaced with mild steel and had rusted horribly into the hole in the keel. I basically took a lot of "P-Blaster" and some hammering with a 5lb club hammer before it started moving. 4. Go to West Marine (or other marine store) and use their nicopress tool to fashion a new cable. Mine was 5/16 stainless steel cable with double swages and a SS loop thingie (whats the correct name for this?) Get a new bolt whilst you are at the store and put it back together. .-=gp=-.
Replacing the cable to the keel
Thanks for the detailed info. Let's hope that I am dealing with stainless! Dick
Thanks for the detailed info. Let's hope that I am dealing with stainless! Dick
Chances are pretty good that it's stainless...
If it's original, or the previous owner knew what he was doing, it's most probably stainless steel. My previous owner (or his previous owner) might have been a few sandwiches short of a picnic (IYKWIM). I found a real mess when I replaced the cable. The winch was wrong, it was an old trailer winch and the cable was 1/4" non-stainless, so it came as no surprise that it broke. It broke during my first sail, in about the first 10 minutes. Fortunately there was a heavy concrete boat ramp to catch the keel
. After replacing the winch/cable/bolt the winch board broke ,or I should say, disintegrated. I don't know the winch location on the 22 but mine is in the cockpit by the companionway, mounted to a 6"X4" pressure-treated board. Also, I guess there's also a tube that the keel cable travels through, check this for leakage also. Good luck, and check your keel pivot bolt also...I haven't changed mine yet, but I need to do it this winter. .-=gp=-.
If it's original, or the previous owner knew what he was doing, it's most probably stainless steel. My previous owner (or his previous owner) might have been a few sandwiches short of a picnic (IYKWIM). I found a real mess when I replaced the cable. The winch was wrong, it was an old trailer winch and the cable was 1/4" non-stainless, so it came as no surprise that it broke. It broke during my first sail, in about the first 10 minutes. Fortunately there was a heavy concrete boat ramp to catch the keel
. After replacing the winch/cable/bolt the winch board broke ,or I should say, disintegrated. I don't know the winch location on the 22 but mine is in the cockpit by the companionway, mounted to a 6"X4" pressure-treated board. Also, I guess there's also a tube that the keel cable travels through, check this for leakage also. Good luck, and check your keel pivot bolt also...I haven't changed mine yet, but I need to do it this winter. .-=gp=-.- Status