Cable Replacement
Popeye, I have a similar situation on my 86 Mac 25. I completely removed my keel last winter for some rehab and maintenance and noticed that the keel cable was showing some wear. With hindsight being 20:20, I should have replaced the cable right then but I did not. I have since talked to a couple of Mac 25 sailors out here in and they suggested a replacement of the winch and cable together. It seems that the friction clutch in the winch has a tendency to wear and completely let go at the most inoportune moment. One guy that I talked to had his winch let go on the first outing of the year. The keel went from full up to full down in a matter of a second and did some significant damage to his keel trunk. If your winch has not yet been replaced, I would suggest doing it when you do the cable. I was able to lower my keel down on to the trailer frame and access the cable for inspection. This winter, I am going to replace the winch and cable. I saw a previous post that indicated Havencraft may have replacement winches for our boats. Clayton
