Retractable Keel banging

[mfree25]

I just finished sailing lessons and put my newly acquired 21' american fiberglass boat in the water. After tuning and rigging we gave it a try last night. After being blown downwind for awhile we realized we forgot to lower the vertically retractable keel. I winched the cable all the way down and we heard the keel knocking back and forth with the waves. I'm not sure if this is normal or if something is wrong. My wife was quite nervous and we motored back to the dock. I am going to take a swim and look at it today. It didn't seem like there was any kind of locking mechanism. Am I missing something or is this the way these boats are supposed to be?

 

[Gunni]

Welcome to the world of retractable keels, they bang around and make noise, just make sure it stays down when you need it to stay down.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

did you LOCK the keel down? (there should be a hole in the hull and centerboard to lock it down). often this pin is wooden so it can snap if you hit something hard.

retractable keels will knock side to side, but should NOT knock at the end of travel. it can damage the pivot pin, or centerboard, or hull. -Is this a ballast keel (heavy)? if so, it defiantly should be locked down.

more info on your boat please....

 

[mfree25]

It is not a swing keel. It lowers vertically - straight down. All I see is a cable when it is lowered. http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=7981

 

[Tom G P-21]

There is another person, armyaviation, with an American 21 that was on the forum recently. You might want to compare notes with him.

http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/rudder-issue.173875/

 

[Benny17441]

Looked up the boat specs and as I had anticipated the American Fiberglass 21" is equipped with a centerboard and not a ballasted keel. When you indicated that you forgot to lower the keel but did not complain about boat instability I figured you had a center board. The good news is the "slap" that you feel is not dangerous and will likely cause no damage as centerboards are light weight and the boat can maintain stability without it. It would not point very well but would not be prone to rollover. The slap is caused by years of wear and tear at the boards pivot pint. The purpose of the centerboard is to prevent drift and help with pointing ability when sailing upwind. I would not lock it so that if you hit bottom it can kick up; there is no danger of it jackknifing and damaging the keel trunk as with a ballasted keel. As far as trying to repair it, I would not worry about it. You can never eliminate the slap 100% and the repair may require a replacement. I would wait until it fell. There was American 21built back in the 60s which was pocket cruiser displacing 2,200 lbs with a ballasted swing keel of 500# but I do not think that is your boat. Your center board should weigh no more than 30-35# and could be raised and lowered without the need for a winch.