SWING KEELS
- Thread starter smitroe
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Smitroe- The board on a Ericson 25 goes down by gravity. There is no lock down mechanism. So as you hit bottom it rises upon your obstruction. FWIW it is really just a 150 lbs centerboard. Rob Hessenius
no lock down at all
My old mirage 5.5 had a cast iron swing keel. There was no way to lock it down. What that means, of course, is that if the boat were to turtle, the keel would fold back against the boat and not do as much to right the boat as it would if it were locked in the down position. It was nice though when you contacted the bottom in shallow water. It would give you a nice warning sound from the scraping, but just fold up and allow you to continue on and not be grounded.
My old mirage 5.5 had a cast iron swing keel. There was no way to lock it down. What that means, of course, is that if the boat were to turtle, the keel would fold back against the boat and not do as much to right the boat as it would if it were locked in the down position. It was nice though when you contacted the bottom in shallow water. It would give you a nice warning sound from the scraping, but just fold up and allow you to continue on and not be grounded.
I am the one who asked about this for my 22' 1971, Venture. By following the advice from this forum I was able to find the hole for pinning my swing keel in the down position, but it wasn't easy. And even after I found it it was difficult to insert the stainless steel bolt since it was slightly off-center. For your information all true swing keel boats do have provisions for locking them, the vast majority do so with bolts through the keel. Don't confuse drop-boards, non-weighted (like the 15' Potter)swing keels, and other not-swing keels with the true swing keel boats that use the weight and depth of the swing keel to stabilize the boat when sailing. Novelman
Swinging around and not pinned down
The keel that is....at least on the smaller 24-26' hunters. True swing keel or not, my boat would have no keel when it's fully retracted. Although basically unweighted at 120lbs +/-, as often as we bump bottom skimming through our numerous shoals I'm glad it's not pinned. Turtle an unpinned weighted centerboard boat and the cabin roof may suffer(along with a few other things,eh?). Thats not a nice thought. Keep 'er upright. Aloha Michael and Kelli
The keel that is
....at least on the smaller 24-26' hunters. True swing keel or not, my boat would have no keel when it's fully retracted. Although basically unweighted at 120lbs +/-, as often as we bump bottom skimming through our numerous shoals I'm glad it's not pinned. Turtle an unpinned weighted centerboard boat and the cabin roof may suffer(along with a few other things,eh?). Thats not a nice thought. Keep 'er upright. Aloha Michael and Kelli
THANKS EVERYONE
THANK YOU ALL, GREAT ANWSERS . AND I HAVE LEARNED MORE..."NOVELMAN " ...THANKS I AM GLAD YOU FOUND YOUR LOCKDOWN AND I WILL TAKE A PICTURE OF MINE SHORTLY WHEN I GO OUT TO CHECK HER OUT...IT RAINED HEAVILY ALL DAY HERE AND I CAN BET YOU THE BOAT IS BONE DRY......SMITROE
THANK YOU ALL, GREAT ANWSERS . AND I HAVE LEARNED MORE..."NOVELMAN " ...THANKS I AM GLAD YOU FOUND YOUR LOCKDOWN AND I WILL TAKE A PICTURE OF MINE SHORTLY WHEN I GO OUT TO CHECK HER OUT...IT RAINED HEAVILY ALL DAY HERE AND I CAN BET YOU THE BOAT IS BONE DRY......SMITROE
Swing keel lockdown
The Beneteau 323 swing keel version, a considerably larger boat, does not have a lock down position. There is considerable keel weight and shape built inot the hull besides the swing keel, sufficient that the keel being down is not essential most of the time for reducing either leeway or heel, but the keel itself is a very heavy piece and extends the draft from roughly 2'11" to 7' .
The Beneteau 323 swing keel version, a considerably larger boat, does not have a lock down position. There is considerable keel weight and shape built inot the hull besides the swing keel, sufficient that the keel being down is not essential most of the time for reducing either leeway or heel, but the keel itself is a very heavy piece and extends the draft from roughly 2'11" to 7' .
Catalina 22
When I bought my '75 C22 used, it had a damaged keel trunk that leaked, and the lockdown bolt was bent. Also, the stailess strap that is glassed into the keel trunk was damaged. I phoned Catalina Yachts and inquired how to buy the parts to rebuild the lock down. The tech I spoke to suggested that I remove the lockdown bolt completely, since the use of the lockdown bolt was what caused the damage in the first place. Had the keel not been locked, when the previous ownerran aground, it would not have damaged the keel trunk. I did as was suggested and have been happily sailing on my shallow lake for the last 4 yeatrs with no problems. There are times when my keel bumps along the bottom, with no ill effects.
When I bought my '75 C22 used, it had a damaged keel trunk that leaked, and the lockdown bolt was bent. Also, the stailess strap that is glassed into the keel trunk was damaged. I phoned Catalina Yachts and inquired how to buy the parts to rebuild the lock down. The tech I spoke to suggested that I remove the lockdown bolt completely, since the use of the lockdown bolt was what caused the damage in the first place. Had the keel not been locked, when the previous ownerran aground, it would not have damaged the keel trunk. I did as was suggested and have been happily sailing on my shallow lake for the last 4 yeatrs with no problems. There are times when my keel bumps along the bottom, with no ill effects.
H260
Paul, I understand tieing the keel in the folded position. But how do you "tie your keel down"? I
Paul, I understand tieing the keel in the folded position. But how do you "tie your keel down"? I
Lock down keels
My very first sailboat was a Chrysler 22, many years ago. It had a swing keel that was cast iron. As memory serves, it did not have a true lock down, but did have what could best be described as a tensioning bolt, which would hold the keel in the down, or up, position pretty firmly. But it wasn't locked and would rise up if you hit something. Good thing too, as I have been known to find bottom from time to time.
My very first sailboat was a Chrysler 22, many years ago. It had a swing keel that was cast iron. As memory serves, it did not have a true lock down, but did have what could best be described as a tensioning bolt, which would hold the keel in the down, or up, position pretty firmly. But it wasn't locked and would rise up if you hit something. Good thing too, as I have been known to find bottom from time to time.
Chrysler 22
My first boat was a Chrysler 22 with the swing keel. The keel didn't lock down. The swing keel was helpfull when you sailed into an area you should not have. The first time I hit and submerged object the keel came up and then dropped back down. When that keel dropped I beleive my heart skipped about 4 or 5 beats.
My first boat was a Chrysler 22 with the swing keel. The keel didn't lock down. The swing keel was helpfull when you sailed into an area you should not have. The first time I hit and submerged object the keel came up and then dropped back down. When that keel dropped I beleive my heart skipped about 4 or 5 beats.
A word of caution ---
I would urge you folks to not allow the swing keel to rest on the forward section of the trunk. Because if you should hit something and then have the keel swing completely down again, the forward edge of the trunk could be split when the keel crashes into it. Whenever I went out, I would allow the keel to go all the way down and then crank it up a notch or two on the winch. Thus, when the keel got caught and then came down, it would be caught by the cable rather than the forward edge of the trunk. Have a good day... Tom
I would urge you folks to not allow the swing keel to rest on the forward section of the trunk. Because if you should hit something and then have the keel swing completely down again, the forward edge of the trunk could be split when the keel crashes into it. Whenever I went out, I would allow the keel to go all the way down and then crank it up a notch or two on the winch. Thus, when the keel got caught and then came down, it would be caught by the cable rather than the forward edge of the trunk. Have a good day... Tom
Keel position
One thing I liked about the swing keel you can shift the center of gravity of the boat some what by the position of the keel. This would assist in correcting weather or lee helm problems. I found with my Chrysler 22 that if I had the keel down only 60 percent of the way the boat handled lot better than all the way down. I have sold the Chrysler and my wife and I now have a Hunter 34.
One thing I liked about the swing keel you can shift the center of gravity of the boat some what by the position of the keel. This would assist in correcting weather or lee helm problems. I found with my Chrysler 22 that if I had the keel down only 60 percent of the way the boat handled lot better than all the way down. I have sold the Chrysler and my wife and I now have a Hunter 34.
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