swing keel concerns

[harvey butler]

I purchased my first sail boat this spring.. 23.5 hunter. After getting it home and becoming familiar with most items put to sail. great boat, had little trouble in a small lake. I noticed that when anchored I could head the keel making a noise as if it was swinging side ways. The keel was up at this time. when I took the boat home, I got under and could move the keel back and forth in its location... how much play should there be? Do you have to let the keel down to make a proper inspection? if yes do you have to raise the boat or can the keel be lower when it is up?...I noted that inside there is a large nut under a cover on the floor just if front of the mast in the cabin. Is this the nut that you would loosen to lower the keel if need be...

Thanks

Harvey, the newfoundlander

 

[Hugh Straub]

Hi Harvey

Lots of questions! My center board had some lateral play when I first bought the boat. I brought the boat to a boat yard where it was blocked up about four feet off the ground. Using info from this site, I loosened the large bolt you found aft of the mast step and inserted a two foot long section of 3/4 inch threaded rod . I tapped on the rod while the centerboard control line was slacked off to drop the board assembly out of the boat. A strong person, not your wife, needs to be under the boat to control the heavy board as it comes down. Lateral play was cured by discarding the centerboard axle hole bushing and inserting a small section of cutlass bearing in its place. A new axle was threaded on both ends and thin nuts placed on both ends of the axle to hold the axle in place in its stainless steel housing. Plastic pads were secured to the outside of the stainless housing to ensure a tight (honeymoon) fit of the housing inside the centerboard trunk. The centerboard assembly was then re- inserted in the trunk using the threaded rod to guide the board and housing it into position. When the housing is in place, the rod is removed and the bolt replaced with a bit of sealer. Dropping and raising the board assembly is easy. I confess the clever folks at the yard figured out how to eliminate the lateral play.

As result the centerboard works smoothly with no lateral banging at anchor or underway.

Much of what I've written will be meaningless to you until you search this site for posts regarding centerboard removal. The system is the same for all the water ballasted Hunters, so you'll find several posts with good pictures which will make all this plain regardless if the photos and procedure aren't 23.5 specific.

Good luck &

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[harvey butler]

thanks, it will give me something to do over the winter. There is no boat yard close to where I am so I have to try and wing it so to speak... DO a little research prior though first as you suggested....


Thanks again
Harvey

Hi Harvey

Lots of questions! My center board had some lateral play when I first bought the boat. I brought the boat to a boat yard where it was blocked up about four feet off the ground. Using info from this site, I loosened the large bolt you found aft of the mast step and inserted a two foot long section of 3/4 inch threaded rod . I tapped on the rod while the centerboard control line was slacked off to drop the board assembly out of the boat. A strong person, not your wife, needs to be under the boat to control the heavy board as it comes down. Lateral play was cured by discarding the centerboard axle hole bushing and inserting a small section of cutlass bearing in its place. A new axle was threaded on both ends and thin nuts placed on both ends of the axle to hold the axle in place in its stainless steel housing. Plastic pads were secured to the outside of the stainless housing to ensure a tight (honeymoon) fit of the housing inside the centerboard trunk. The centerboard assembly was then re- inserted in the trunk using the threaded rod to guide the board and housing it into position. When the housing is in place, the rod is removed and the bolt replaced with a bit of sealer. Dropping and raising the board assembly is easy. I confess the clever folks at the yard figured out how to eliminate the lateral play.

As result the centerboard works smoothly with no lateral banging at anchor or underway.

Much of what I've written will be meaningless to you until you search this site for posts regarding centerboard removal. The system is the same for all the water ballasted Hunters, so you'll find several posts with good pictures which will make all this plain regardless if the photos and procedure aren't 23.5 specific.

Good luck &

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Regarding removal of the centerboard, I would ill advise against tapping because if that metal rod should ever get into the threads of the centerboard housing and damage those threads that the retaining bolt holds the centerboard bracket in place, you will end up having to relpace the centerboard housing. If you will check earlier posts, I would recommend that the board be dropped. The easiest way to loosed up that bracket so it will come out is to simply work the centerboard back and forth and it will come out. There is no need to tap and take that chance of screwing the threads up in the centerboard housing. Hunter no longer makes that bracket and you would have to have one special made and that is a costly mistake. I was involved from day one of the conception of the 23.5, introducing it for Hunter and probably sold about 25% of the production. When removing the centerboards, this was the way I use to remove all my centerboards.

In the bracket is a stainless steel rod . There is a hole in the centerboard which that ss rod goes thru. The later boats I believe had a hard plastic sleeve that went over that rod to make it easier for the centerboard to swing on. Over the years, I saw those centerboards in pretty good shape but the hole the retaining bracket went thru and/or the plastic sleeve wore out. Replacing the plastic sleeve usually solved that issue. In some cases there were plastic bushings between the centerboard and the housing it was in and if that broke or wore out, simply replacing those would solve that issue.

Because of the confinement of the retaining pin in the area of the hull trunk housing, any nuts outside of that housing could possibly damage the hull. When putting that retaining ss rod pin back in place, to keep it in place, put some duck tape on the outside to keep it from falling out when reinserting the assembly into the hull.

Any questions, feel free to email me.

crazy dave condon

 

[harvey butler]

appreciate the info.... I believe mine has plastic bushing.... I'll check to see what exactly the parts I require and maybe Santa will be good to me... Then I have all spring to work on same.....

I may have to contact you again in the future.

thanks again

Harvey

Regarding removal of the centerboard, I would ill advise against tapping because if that metal rod should ever get into the threads of the centerboard housing and damage those threads that the retaining bolt holds the centerboard bracket in place, you will end up having to relpace the centerboard housing. If you will check earlier posts, I would recommend that the board be dropped. The easiest way to loosed up that bracket so it will come out is to simply work the centerboard back and forth and it will come out. There is no need to tap and take that chance of screwing the threads up in the centerboard housing. Hunter no longer makes that bracket and you would have to have one special made and that is a costly mistake. I was involved from day one of the conception of the 23.5, introducing it for Hunter and probably sold about 25% of the production. When removing the centerboards, this was the way I use to remove all my centerboards.

In the bracket is a stainless steel rod . There is a hole in the centerboard which that ss rod goes thru. The later boats I believe had a hard plastic sleeve that went over that rod to make it easier for the centerboard to swing on. Over the years, I saw those centerboards in pretty good shape but the hole the retaining bracket went thru and/or the plastic sleeve wore out. Replacing the plastic sleeve usually solved that issue. In some cases there were plastic bushings between the centerboard and the housing it was in and if that broke or wore out, simply replacing those would solve that issue.

Because of the confinement of the retaining pin in the area of the hull trunk housing, any nuts outside of that housing could possibly damage the hull. When putting that retaining ss rod pin back in place, to keep it in place, put some duck tape on the outside to keep it from falling out when reinserting the assembly into the hull.

Any questions, feel free to email me.

crazy dave condon

 

[Hugh Straub]

Dave's point about nuts protruding from the stainless steel bracket chafing the CB trunk is well taken. However, on my 23.5 the was sufficient space between the axle ends and the side of the CB trunk that one end of the axle, regardless of duct tape, would in time come free with the axle then cocked in the the bracket and resultant wear to the plastic bush, initially and ultimately on the CB hole itself. With careful measurement of the axle length and thin nuts to secure the axle ends there is no chafe to the CB trunk and the CB is much more secure...a permanent fix.

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[harvey butler]

All The Information I Can Get Is A Great Help

Appreciate Same

Harvey

 

[BrianW]

I have a follow up question. Is the CB bracket itself threaded, or is there a threaded nut welded to the bracket? Thanks BrianW

 

[harvey butler]

I have no idea.....maybe someone can answer same....

harvey

 

[twalker H260]

Here's the drawing for the 23.5 bracket. The others are similar.

http://www.marlow-hunter.com/export/Model-Information/23.5_1993_1997/CB Bracket H26D1501.pdf

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

There is a welded nut on the original centerboard bracket

 

[harvey butler]

thanks

I get enough info to give me the courage to tackle it this winter...

thanks

Harvey

There is a welded nut on the original centerboard bracket

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Harvey;

Feel free to email at davecondon@mindspring.com. I was in the Navy and went to a military college and with the last name, you can only begin to imagine the pert names. Ha.

 

[BrianW]

Thanks Crazy Dave! BrianW