Swing Keel Cable

[Tom Childers]

I'm requesting any information on replacing the cable on my Venture 23 of Newport. The cable came out of the winch the other day and is frayed on the winch end enough that I think replacement is called for. I trailer my boat and actually haven't seen the connection to the keel. I was able to drag the boat onto the trailer allowing the ramp and the trailer to swing the keel into the retracted position.I would like to know three things. 1. If a specific length that the cable should be used?2. Do I have to raise the boat off of the trailer or is there an easier (more convienient) way?3. How is the cable secured at the winch and at the keel (i.e. cable clamps, swedged or other method? My boat had a cable clamp at the winch which bound up every time I extended or retracted the keel.) Thanks for any help thats out there.

 

[Toby Hendrix]

Swing Keel cable repair

I have a 1976 Venture Newport 23 that I have replaced the winch cable on. While the boat was in the water,I secured the keel with the locking pin to stop any movement of the keel in the water.I released the cable from the winch, replaced the plastic guide tube with a new one & 2 clamps. The cable is secured to the keel with a swedge.With simple dive gear,I had a friend thread the new cable(12feet)down the tube and swedged it into place.Watch out for keel movement due to wave action.The 12ft of cable is more than enough but we left it on the winch incase we need to re-swedge several years from now.I did look at trying this on the hard, but I would need to have a travel hoist to lift the boat high enough to get at the cable.This job took me no more than 20 min.Happy diving!

 

[Rex]

My centerboard bangs around is something broke?

I bu;ght an old 25 and the centerboard slaps around in the cavity. Is there a part missing that cushions this. In addition to sidewards it also slams if the boat pitches up and down in crossing a large wake.What do you think?

 

[Tom Childers]

Rex and Toby

Rex: I just started sailing this summer after a 30 year break. This is the first "swing keel" boat that I have owned and I haven't experienced your problem yet - but thanks to Toby, I now know to look for the place to put a locking pin in the keel, which I wasn't aware of before. That may stop your banging, but may cause other problems. Look for Toby's reply to my further questions below - he may be able to help you.Toby: Thanks for sharing your experience. As I indicated above, the previous owner didn't brief me on the locking pin arrangement, so I will do some back tracking and find the locking pin arrangement. Once I have found it, I guess I will need to figure out when and how to use it. 1. Do you lock your keel down while sailing? 2. Is there more than one locking position to keep the keel in various stages of extension? -3. Also, my cable is 1/4 inch. What size cable did you use on your keel?Thanks - Tom

 

[Walter Jones]

Keel winch and lockdown bolt

My keel cable is 3/16 stainless steel. I think its 7X19 if I remember right. I got mine along with a new winch from Tractor Supply. Mine is easily changed with the boat on the trailer. Mine has a thimble swedged on the end which bolts to the keel with a 3/8 bolt. There is only one lock down positon. There is a plastic plug on the side of the trunk that you remove to access the head of the bolt. You lower the keel, line up the hole and install the bolt. I never lock mine down because I sail where the chance of running aground or hitting a stump is pretty good. I think you could do a lot of damage that way. BTW my boat is a 25 so it may be different than yours. I stopped my keel from klunking by putting a nylon bushing in the hole to take up the slack. You have to put a jack under the keel take the weight off the pivit bolt to take the bolt out. Then you can drop the keel down. I also had to drop the trailer axle down to get to the hole.