Stuck keel

[Ron Fulton]

I am having a great deal of difficulty getting the keel to drop down on my 1971 MacGregor Venture (23 ft). The fiberglass has swelled in the hull and the steel has rusted, so I need to take it out and reglass it. I've taken out the pin and have spent an entire day trying to knock out the keel. Only the back end will drop and it's not enough force to drop the whole thing out. Is there another pin or bolt to remove or a particular way this needs to come out? It's driving me insane!

 

[Bob Trail]

Keel removal

I assume you've gotten the boat on the trailer and are crawling around under there...I just wrote of how I removed the keel on my '74 to the fellow with the leaking keelbolt so you can refer to that. In your case have you tried to slide a saw blade along between the keel and trunk? Wear a mask if you think hull paint might be a toxic problem.