My wife and I have been sailing our "new" Catalina 22 and have experience some great days out on the water. There is one item that has me stumped. The cable for the swing keel hums while the boat is under sail and the faster we go the louder the hum becomes. I have tried to put enough slack in the cable by releasing as much cable as possible but there is a point where the handle unscrews from the mechanism and I cannot lower the cable any further. There are times when the whole boat will vibrate just from the cable and this does get on our nerves. Any suggestions? Tom
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Herb
the hum means good things
Hi Tom the hum is there to stay it is one of those things a catalina does when it is happy. The best way to set the tension is to lower the keel all the way so there is slack in the cable and then tighten it so that ou just have tension on the cable. When the cable hums it means your starting to move now. Mine starts about 4 mph (per the GPS to I do not have knot meter) hour and gets slightly louder until about 6 and then remains constant. You will get used to it and start to use it as your knot meter. Happy sailing. Herb S/V DayDream
Hi Tom the hum is there to stay it is one of those things a catalina does when it is happy. The best way to set the tension is to lower the keel all the way so there is slack in the cable and then tighten it so that ou just have tension on the cable. When the cable hums it means your starting to move now. Mine starts about 4 mph (per the GPS to I do not have knot meter) hour and gets slightly louder until about 6 and then remains constant. You will get used to it and start to use it as your knot meter. Happy sailing. Herb S/V DayDream
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Paul
couldn't lose it
I had a Clipper 21 with a swing keel. The cable hum was annoying but after finally realizing that it was not going away I was able to keep it to a minimum by keeping just a small amount of tension on it. It was also a good indicator of how well the boat was trimmed.
I had a Clipper 21 with a swing keel. The cable hum was annoying but after finally realizing that it was not going away I was able to keep it to a minimum by keeping just a small amount of tension on it. It was also a good indicator of how well the boat was trimmed.
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IslandJack
Great dolphin watching boat
I had a Mac 25....same hum. My typical short sail was to the local dolphin watch grounds...they seemed to love it. The dolphins would follow me back a mile or so when I cruised through. I could change its pitch, but short of sailing with @ 1/3 keel...it wouldn't go away. IJ
I had a Mac 25....same hum. My typical short sail was to the local dolphin watch grounds...they seemed to love it. The dolphins would follow me back a mile or so when I cruised through. I could change its pitch, but short of sailing with @ 1/3 keel...it wouldn't go away. IJ
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Dave
Re: Cable hum
I have the new pads from CD on my keel. It takes a few times of loosening the cable before the keel finally settles all the way down due to the tight fit up in the trunk. Once it's down all the way with slack in the cable, the hum goes away. Sometimes I don't mind it and sometimes it gets on my nerves. As to your handle unscrewing, you could be missing the lock nut that goes on the threaded shaft after the handle. Mine has one. There's no way my handle will unscrew without removing the nut first. Dave, 14447
I have the new pads from CD on my keel. It takes a few times of loosening the cable before the keel finally settles all the way down due to the tight fit up in the trunk. Once it's down all the way with slack in the cable, the hum goes away. Sometimes I don't mind it and sometimes it gets on my nerves. As to your handle unscrewing, you could be missing the lock nut that goes on the threaded shaft after the handle. Mine has one. There's no way my handle will unscrew without removing the nut first. Dave, 14447
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Alan
Humming down the lake
I get the same thing Dave. I've lowered the cable w/slack but the hum's still there. It doesn't bother me at all, just reminds me when I'm picking up speed and sometimes it's a soothing sound.
I get the same thing Dave. I've lowered the cable w/slack but the hum's still there. It doesn't bother me at all, just reminds me when I'm picking up speed and sometimes it's a soothing sound.
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Dave
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Dana,C&C 30' Mega,trailsailor
Humm to min---
On my old Mac 222,I put a 1/16" aircraft ss control cable in,to replace a 5/16" one,and played with ajustment some to! Humm was much less and boat was also faster,but I'd check it a lot,it'll hold more then the 5/16" was rated at but looks so small,,I always looked it over!
On my old Mac 222,I put a 1/16" aircraft ss control cable in,to replace a 5/16" one,and played with ajustment some to! Humm was much less and boat was also faster,but I'd check it a lot,it'll hold more then the 5/16" was rated at but looks so small,,I always looked it over!
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Bayard Gross
Try some grease on the pin at the keel
Where the cable ends at the keel, there is a fork and clevis pin arrangement attaching the cable to the keel. Putting some good marine grease onto this may permit the fork to move easily and therefore eliminate or at least make tolerable that hum that is bothering you. I am in both camps for the hum. It bothers me, but I like to hear it too. My winch handle unwinds off the winch as well, but at that point I know I have got the keel fully down, so I haven't bothered to secure it with a lock nut. By the way, there is a C-22 called the Humming Bird, which you would think was because it has a wing keel. It doesn't, and I am sure you know what kind of a keel it has.
Where the cable ends at the keel, there is a fork and clevis pin arrangement attaching the cable to the keel. Putting some good marine grease onto this may permit the fork to move easily and therefore eliminate or at least make tolerable that hum that is bothering you. I am in both camps for the hum. It bothers me, but I like to hear it too. My winch handle unwinds off the winch as well, but at that point I know I have got the keel fully down, so I haven't bothered to secure it with a lock nut. By the way, there is a C-22 called the Humming Bird, which you would think was because it has a wing keel. It doesn't, and I am sure you know what kind of a keel it has.
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Bob
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