I have a 19' foot Mariner with what I think is called a swing keel. The cast iron keel board swings from a big bolt in the cabin and is raised and lowered by a wire hooked to a pulley assemble in the cockpit. I am having trouble deciding how low is should go. Should it hang by the wire or should there be slack in the wire when the keel board is fully down? The rope I have on the big pulley may be too short. I can not get full run of the wire with it. If I fix it were the wire goes slack on the down end, I can not get the keel all the way up. How far down should it go?
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Shouldn't hang from the wire. Not that I know, but Justin provided an answer earlier 
See the link below for his article.
See the link below for his article.Re: swing keel
Les, the owner's manual currently being published by Stuart Marine says that one should NOT let the centerboard go all the way down as it will then contact the front of the well, possibly damaging it should it hit with too much force (read: leak). Their advice is to have the centerboard supported by the cable when underway. When being trailered, Stuart Marine recommends that the centerboard be raised up into the well and a support pin inserted into the hole in the trunk to capture the centerboard, thereby taking the load off of the cable. We have a keel plate on our trailer that our boat's centerboard rests on when on the road. HTH aloha, win
Les, the owner's manual currently being published by Stuart Marine says that one should NOT let the centerboard go all the way down as it will then contact the front of the well, possibly damaging it should it hit with too much force (read: leak). Their advice is to have the centerboard supported by the cable when underway. When being trailered, Stuart Marine recommends that the centerboard be raised up into the well and a support pin inserted into the hole in the trunk to capture the centerboard, thereby taking the load off of the cable. We have a keel plate on our trailer that our boat's centerboard rests on when on the road. HTH aloha, win
hang keel by wire Then
Thanks Guys I have yet to find a way to tell were full down is. There is not place to pin it down, only up. Win Going by your message I should let it hang on the wire when down. That is the way my keel set up was. This boat has a swing keel, not a center board. To me a center board only goes straight up or down. A swing keel pivots from the bow end of the keel. That said, what angle should swing keel angled back when fully down. With no way to lock my swing keel in place it would do as Win said and flop around and stress the pivot bolt and mount point in the keel well. My keel is also suported on the trailer so I am good on that end. Thanks again Les
Thanks Guys I have yet to find a way to tell were full down is. There is not place to pin it down, only up. Win Going by your message I should let it hang on the wire when down. That is the way my keel set up was. This boat has a swing keel, not a center board. To me a center board only goes straight up or down. A swing keel pivots from the bow end of the keel. That said, what angle should swing keel angled back when fully down. With no way to lock my swing keel in place it would do as Win said and flop around and stress the pivot bolt and mount point in the keel well. My keel is also suported on the trailer so I am good on that end. Thanks again Les
Centerboards and keels
Ok - Technically, a board that slides straight up and down is a daggerboard, a board that pivots down to provide lift but not ballast is a centerboard, and a board that pivots down to provide lift and also provides ballast is a swing keel. As far as how far to let it go - Stuart is building boats that are somewhat different from those that O'day built. I don't know why they are recommending hanging the board on the wire, but I wouldn't do it with my boat. It may be that the new boats have lighter boards. The issue with hanging from the wire is that if you manage to make the board swing in a swell, it will begin to shock load the wire and you then risk breaking it. If the wire breaks, the board swings forward at high speed and contacts the stop in the centerboard trunk with a lot of energy. This can actually hole your boat. People have actually lost Catalina 25's for the same reason. If you let the board rest on the stop, not only are you less likely to have it swing because of the angle it will sit at, but if it does swing a bit, it will have less fall and will be traveling with less energy when it hits the trunk. I'd call Stuart directly and ask them what the deal is. As always, your mileage may varry - Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Ok - Technically, a board that slides straight up and down is a daggerboard, a board that pivots down to provide lift but not ballast is a centerboard, and a board that pivots down to provide lift and also provides ballast is a swing keel. As far as how far to let it go - Stuart is building boats that are somewhat different from those that O'day built. I don't know why they are recommending hanging the board on the wire, but I wouldn't do it with my boat. It may be that the new boats have lighter boards. The issue with hanging from the wire is that if you manage to make the board swing in a swell, it will begin to shock load the wire and you then risk breaking it. If the wire breaks, the board swings forward at high speed and contacts the stop in the centerboard trunk with a lot of energy. This can actually hole your boat. People have actually lost Catalina 25's for the same reason. If you let the board rest on the stop, not only are you less likely to have it swing because of the angle it will sit at, but if it does swing a bit, it will have less fall and will be traveling with less energy when it hits the trunk. I'd call Stuart directly and ask them what the deal is. As always, your mileage may varry - Justin - O'day Owners' Web
Thanks Justin
Thanks Justin The very reason I started this line was because I don't want to hole the boat, as you put it. I just keep getting told a different thing by a lot of people, on and off the web. When I was out the other day I tried it both ways and the keel seem to move more when there was slack in the wire. I will need to change the rope if I need the wire to go slack. Its not long enough to go from full up to full down. From full up to full down now I still have two or three turns of wire to go. Thanks for all you help with this Les
Thanks Justin The very reason I started this line was because I don't want to hole the boat, as you put it. I just keep getting told a different thing by a lot of people, on and off the web. When I was out the other day I tried it both ways and the keel seem to move more when there was slack in the wire. I will need to change the rope if I need the wire to go slack. Its not long enough to go from full up to full down. From full up to full down now I still have two or three turns of wire to go. Thanks for all you help with this Les
swing keel
im a 16 year old with an oday osprat which is the same boat as the 19' but in 16'. what you call a swing keel is accually a center board. what i sugest you do is make it so you can bring the board all the way up but still go the maximum distance down, this allows for better handling and a higher degree of pointing. mail me back and tell me how it turns out wing 1514@aol.com p.s. when the boars is down it should go no further that 90 degrease from the bottom if the centerboard trunk.
im a 16 year old with an oday osprat which is the same boat as the 19' but in 16'. what you call a swing keel is accually a center board. what i sugest you do is make it so you can bring the board all the way up but still go the maximum distance down, this allows for better handling and a higher degree of pointing. mail me back and tell me how it turns out wing 1514@aol.com p.s. when the boars is down it should go no further that 90 degrease from the bottom if the centerboard trunk.
Tried it both ways
Ok I tied it both ways. I had 2 to 3 foot swells and with the board all the way down, and the wire slack the board flopped back and forth. I then raised the board by one turn on the wire, the flopping stop. I don't think if the wire broke it would move more that 3 ,4 inchs don't think that would be any more than I was getting with the flopping with slack in the wire. I think I might need to shim the board it had a lot of side flop also. Thank to all for ther help with this Les
Ok I tied it both ways. I had 2 to 3 foot swells and with the board all the way down, and the wire slack the board flopped back and forth. I then raised the board by one turn on the wire, the flopping stop. I don't think if the wire broke it would move more that 3 ,4 inchs don't think that would be any more than I was getting with the flopping with slack in the wire. I think I might need to shim the board it had a lot of side flop also. Thank to all for ther help with this Les
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