Swing keel position on diff. pts of sail

[Mike]

I recently bought a '78 C-22. This is my first "big boat" -- i.e., not a racing dinghy. In the dinghy world, I was used to raising and lowering my keel based on my point of sail. I found it was especially important to do this when running dead downwind -- otherwise, the boat had a tendency to "trip." Given the how long the C-22's swing keel is, it seems to me that it would be good to raise it maybe 1/2 or 1/3 of the way when running downwind. However, this seems like a real hassle, especially since it requires heading below and screwing around with the darn keel lock-nut for each adjustment of the keel (not so easy when you're singlehanding). Also, I'm a little worried about the load on the keel cable and winch -- if I understand the swing keel system correctly, the cable doesn't bear the load of the keel when the keel is all the way down. Is it a problem to have the load of the keel on the winch/cable while underway?

 

[Geoff A.]

keeping the keel down

I always keep my down and locked. You want it down just in case you broach. A dingy can be righted if it turtles but if you 22 turtles and the keel swings in, it will sink-not that I know how well the keel lock works. Anyway, this is how the boat was designed to work.

 

[Dave]

Leave keel down

If you raise the keel on a C-22 it moves the center of gravity back. That lowers the back end of the boat which increases drag caused by the wide, flat rear sections of the bottom. When going down wind, moving weight to the bow is a lot faster than cranking up the keel, and a whole lot easier.