Swing Keel Position While Anchored Out

[synchronicity]

I am directly interested interested in how this applies to the Mac 21,but suspect that it may be similar for all swing keels.First sail having been accomplished, I now want to anchor out for the night.This question is currently only concerning lake anchoring, but I would be interested in ocean information if different.The previous owner was very insistant that the keel should not be lowered whileanchored, or boat damage would result. I should note that so far as I know, he Never locked down. I did the first time out, and it seemed to work extremely well.Opinions? Observations?

 

[Night Sailor]

shoal water

If you anchor in shoal water with the dagger or centerboard down and the tide goes out, you risk damage. That is the only instance I can think of that applies, assuming the boat is in excellent condition. I always leave rudders and centerboard down simply for stability. It's a lot more comfortable sleeping without so much rolling.

 

[Greg Pecaut]

anchoring

You will also find that the boat will swing less with the keel down while on anchor. In a current having the keel down helps keep the boat pointing in to the current. Instead of swinging between the current and the wind. Only way to damage the keel is to hit bottom, with some force too. It's not too hard to damage the rudder, if it is left down and you swing into shallow water. Having the keel down can help protect the rudder, it hits first. And the best part about our boats is, that you can raise the keel and ruder and beach it. That's a lot easier than inflating a rubber dingy, or towing a hard dingy, and a lot drier than swimming ashore.

 

[Mike Grishaber]

Always lock the keel

My Mac manual ('81 Mac 22) states that the keel should always be locked unless you are in water that you may believe is not deep enough. Apparently the keel can sway from side to side and cause wear. Unlocking is a good idea when entering a marina or harbor etc where the depth is not known.

 

[Ed13944]

Hang Loose!

I had a V222 with a swing keel. There are lots of things to think about. I was once in a harbor with lots of mooring bouys close together. They made us lower all rudders, keels and motors so that all of the boats would swing the same. No problems. Over time, I would have some concern with the wear and the noise of the keel swinging to the side. But my best advise it to just do what seems best for you. If it doesn't work, it will tell you.

 

[Richard]

Get Down and Dangle

I have a V 22 and sail and moor in a lake. The keel goes down at launch in the spring and stays down for the season. Because we have variable depths in the lake, we never lock down. This may be wrong, but it works for us. I feel it reduces the swing while on the mooring bouy and the lateral bounce when at rest - with our winds here I wouldn't want to try to sleep without the stabilizing effect of the lowered keel. Many boats in our marina also leave their rudders down, however I pull mine and store it inside so as not to wear out the beautiful wood finish on the all wood rudder system (point of pride there).

 

[vwjon]

Less clunk

When over nighting on my V21, I found that if I put in the lock bolt, and then put a little tension on the cable, it would help with some of the clunking under my pillow.

 

[scott]

leave it down if you can

Leaving the keel and ruder down will reduce the rolling and swinging at anchor. however if you could be in shallow water where swinging would let you ground bring it up some or all the way.