Swing keel pin

[magkeller]

Hi all,
I bought an Oday 23, 1979. It has a swing keel and I wanted to know if I need to worry about the pin. If I sould have it checked for wear? Has anyone heard of a pin breaking? Will it last forever (I wish)? What is the normal life expectancy?
Thanks...

 

[Douglast]

i have a 74 21 footer with a swing keel..i removed the keel a few years back..the bolt wasn;t to bad..i should have bushed the main bolt hole in the keel then...i put in a new bolt and there is a bit of keel slap...i always use the keel lock bolt and it helps with the play when i let the cable relax and put some weight on the lock bolt.
The lock bolt is only 5/16 diameter and also abit worn over the years so i am going to drill it out bigger to 1/2 inch with everything in place at the dock.
When the boat is out this winter i will have the lock bolt hold the keel in place and drill the main keel bolt hole out one size larger and probably fasten some side shims in the keel trunk to limit the side momentum the keel can sometime get in calm seas from a nasty motor boat wash..
On my boat if i don;t use the lock bolt except to remove it to dock near shore for an overnighter the keel can hit the leading frt of the trunk when down if the cable is slack and i rather depend on the lock bolt then the cable...as well i don;t want the keel slamming into the trunk if i ever get her topsy turvy

 

[fido]

I had a macgreagor 25 for years with a swing keel, every year before going back into the water the keel bolt was checked by simple putting jack system into place 6x6 pressure treated blocks to hold the keel into place, remove the bolt and inspect, replace rubber seals at the same time and check the cable, I never have had issue with the cable but have changed bolt and seal onlt once, this will give you real piece of mind on the water, good maintenance is the key for a good season full of sailing

 

[HukilauMike]

The pin on your boat is made of Delrin, a very durable plastic. The pin is held in by two wedges (also delrin), that in turn are held in by two metal plates secured by screws on the bottom edge of the stub keel. I have never heard of an Oday centerboard failing at the pin. It would take a pretty major failure on the part of multiple parts for the board to be lost (stuck is a different story; if you do a search on this site looking for "stuck centerboard", be prepared to have your system crash because of too many returns).

My board works, the screws look tight and secure, and I have never asked any more questions about it. However, if you do want to poke around in there, here is a print out of an old posting on this site (too big for one post - will continue in a second reply). I think the posting is still available in the archives, but I think the pictures are not to be found.

 

[Donnybrook]

You sure it is a swing keel? I had a 1980 ODay 23 with a centerboard. BIG difference. If you can lower and raise it by hand, it is a CB. If you have a winch then it is probably a swing keel. I replaced the bushings on the pin at around the 15 year old mark. A CB probably weighs around 50 lbs and is not hard to lower when you are on the hard.

 

[HukilauMike]

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[JoyRide28]

Former owner of O'day 222 here. I suggest you call Rudy at D & R Marine: http://www.drmarine.com/ He is the guy who has parts and knowledge for all the O'days (and other boats as well). I always found him to be very helpful.

 

[RAD]

Go post this on the Odayowners site and also do a search over there cause this has been a hot topic for awhile and Joe from Trinka will surly chime in......my 32 has the same Delrin pin and wedges

 

[magkeller]

Donnybrook is right, it is a centerboard.
Thanks everyone for the input. It is great help.