Stuck Keel

[spaulhk]

So here goes my Oday 23 is a 1973 model. It has an iron trunk with retractable fiber glass keel. Do you know if the fiberglass keel contains any lead or heavy metal within the fiberglass? I do have the dinette post and was able to find the crank. However I have bigger problems now the keel is stuck in the trunk. The boat has been sitting on land since 1996 so the iron trunk has rusted away causing a layer of friction between the keel and the iron case. Also the hinge that the keel swings on might also be frozen. I tried every thing from clearing the gap between trunk and fiberglass. Drilling holes into fiberglass and pulling keel down, banging down on keel from inside boat however it wouldn’t move an inch. Has anyone experienced a similar problem like this? I feel like the boat is worthless and won’t sail well without the keel down, this is the only problem with the boat everything else is mint. I also thought of fiber glassing an extension to the keel and making a new one that was fixed. Has anyone ever tried jerry rigging a new keel onto a stuck keel? Any help on this matter will be greatly appreciated.-Stephen PaulWestbury, NY516-236-8026spaulhk@gmail.com

 

[Dave]

Same Problem Last Year

Steve:I have a '75 O'Day 25 w/ centerboard and experience the same thing last year. I ended up hiring a diver to go down and clean the trunk and after 1 1/2 he was able to free it. He cleaned it and said to raise and lower it everytime I went out so the stuff would not build up. Power washed it carefully when I pulled out last fall at yard. I am putting the boat in in three weeks, we will know then how I did. There have also been a number of articles on the problem on the various parts and then check with Rudy at D&R Marine. Good luck.

 

[George]

same problem over here

I found this site hoping for an answer, in a posting dated spring 2005 a guy named chris said its posible that the fiberglass layers swelled up from soaking up water over the years - makes sense. I tried the same techniques as you with no luck yet,i'm determined to get it down, clean area,and repair or replace origional , gotta say i don't like the add on idea . good luck-

 

[Keith]

Agree...Have to clean it out

I agree with the other posts. I have replaced the centerboard in my 73 O'Day 23, and you need to have the slot clean.First, though, it is a centerboard...not a keel. Your shoal keel is your ballast, and the centerboard is only 55lbs. It is a bit of metal, embedded in a shaped core and wrapped with fiberglass. Your boat is not worthless without it; it is perfectly safe. It will just not point well into the wind, as Chris said.If your boat is that clean, you can fix this problem. Get the boat up in the air, and use a metal strap to clear all the rust and debris from both sides of the slot so it will wiggle side to side. Make sure your braided wire pendant is unwound off the crank so it is loose. Also assure that the front of the slot is clear above the centerboard; when it rotates down, the front actually rises up against the inside of the slot.If none of this works, you should remove the pivot pin. Scrape off bottom paint, and you should see dimples where a 1" steel pin is driven through the iron keel and holds the centerboard. With this driven out, you should be able to pull the centerboard out and see what is going on.