Swing Keel Frame Plans

CCrane2299 · Nov 3, 2014

Is it on a trailer? I let mine down with the cable and cleaned/painted the rear top of it. I could have done any cable/winch work here but didnt need to. Then I wound it back up and dropped the front with a floor jack. I had to replace the brass pin and then cleaned and painted that end. Jacked it back up into place, did a little touch up and it was done.

CloudDiver · Nov 4, 2014

Look at my thread on restoring Hull 10580 and you will see how I used Brownell boat stands and a hoist to get my hull off the trailer. If you are out doors you can use a cherry picker to lift the bow and take the trailer away from the side. I used a shipping pallet to make the cradle for my keel, no real science to it.

CCrane2299 · Nov 4, 2014

I think I just put some cribbing under the stern while the trailer tongue was all the way down. When I raised the tongue the rear of the boat lifted enough to work on the keel one end at a time. The keel slot kept it from falling while I was working on it.

CCrane2299 · Nov 4, 2014

Here is a picture. I used a metal saw horse with a piece of wood to help spread the load. I also used a piece of foam rubber to protect the hull a little. The orange strap was to stabilize the boat while it was hovering. I used this same set up for several days while I replaced bunk boards and painted the bottom.

$tingy Sailor · Nov 4, 2014

RL,

Just in case you don't know already, it IS possible to remove the keel without a crane to lift the boat off the trailer entirely. Catalina Direct sells a video that shows the process and includes a drawing of the sled you build to do it together with a couple of jacks and some blocks. That might be the drawing you're asking about. It's not very complicated. If that's the route you would rather take, send me a PM and I can give you some dimensions.

If you would rather use the boat yard crane, anything will do as has been suggested already including a pallet, which is easy to come by.

Richie50 · Nov 5, 2014

I used the video and the plans to remove my keel. Found it very useful a happy I purchased it.

whatcaneyedo · Nov 5, 2014

No engineering or blueprints are required to build a keel cart, just grab a saw and start cutting. People who have a factory trailer might be able to remove the keel with the boat still in place but my trailer was built in someone's backyard...

fhp3 · Nov 7, 2014

rlrobian said:
Folks,
I have an 1988 22' swing keel. We, my brother and I, purchased this boat as a project and to get it out of our clubs bone yard. It filled with water and froze and was left abandoned for 3 years. We are at the point in the project that we need to drop the keel for inspection of keel, cable and swing bolts. Somewhere on this site I saw a set of drawings for building a frame to lower the keel into for this job.
I have tried multiple times and cannot locate the tread.
Can anyone help?
Thanks
RL

Check PM. I have one you can use. I'm in MA.

CaptDon01 · Nov 11, 2014

Whatcaneyedo.... Would like to see more photos of the keel job. Interested in what you did with the keel pin hole. Did you use the long threaded rod to pull the keel back up into place? Years ago I used some long bolts with the heads cut off as guides while I lifted the keep from below with a floor jack.

Thanks in advance,

Don

$tingy Sailor · Nov 12, 2014

I finished pulling my keel last night. As you can see, like Whatcaneyedo, my sled is also a little different from the standard design. I used scrap lumber that I had on hand and I needed extra height for my Calkins trailer.

I can also confirm that the framing strap cross braces (and/or heavier lumber and lag bolts) for the uprights is pretty much a necessity. I originally used 1x lumber and deck screws per the DVD. The keel leaned over and blew them right up.

whatcaneyedo · Nov 15, 2014

CaptDon01 said:
Whatcaneyedo.... Would like to see more photos of the keel job. Interested in what you did with the keel pin hole. Did you use the long threaded rod to pull the keel back up into place? Years ago I used some long bolts with the heads cut off as guides while I lifted the keep from below with a floor jack.

Thanks in advance,

Don

With the keel supported in the cart on a motorcycle lift stand we took our time getting the bolts out. I had sprayed them several times over several days with liquid wrench in case there was any rust bonding to them. This was the sketchiest part of the project because I really didn't want to strip the treads or break the head off of one of the bolts. But by backing them out perhaps a 1/2 turn at a time and then turning them back 1/4 in again all four came out without issue.

I stripped the keel with a grinding disk and wire wheel, if you have the money but not the time have it sandblasted instead. I then brought it to a local machine shop where they filled in the oblong hole with stainless steel weld, then they re-drilled the hole and pressed in the CD sacrificial bushing with a bit of lock tight to hold it snug. I can't weld so this was the only part of my restoration that I didn't do myself. An alternative would have been to bore the damaged hole even larger and press in a bigger custom bushing but I am pleased with what they chose to do. With the keel back I used some thick marine epoxy to fare it, I don't remember the brand but I'm sure there are lots that will work. After faring and sanding I used West Systems epoxy for the barrier coat.

The side shims from CD come with instructions and worked fine but I had to bore the holes out on the new hanger assembly and sand the edges to get it to fit right. When lifting it back in the ready rod was just to guide it and line the holes up correctly, the motorcycle stand did most of the work. Once more we were very careful when installing the new bolts and we used some lock tight on the treads to keep them from backing out on their own.

Swing Keel Frame Plans

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Attachments

.