Arenaria 325/21 appeared to have a problem with the cockpit buttons to raise and lower the keel last summer and we fitted new buttons in the autumn. All went well until our recent lift-out, when one of the yard workers suggested that the buttons were a little intermittent. We investigated further and discovered that it was not the new buttons but the solenoid fixed above the hydraulic cylinder in the forward locker that had become the culprit.

With the help of our local marine electrician, this was confirmed and a new unit was sourced. The original was only available in America, but he found a company that supplies winches for vehicles such as Land Rovers that had an almost identical solenoid, but with a slightly higher spec. They come as a pair (for raising a lowering the vehicle winch) so we now have a spare. The fittings were identical and the swap over took only a few minutes. He couldn't believe it was so simple!

The pair of solenoids cost c £40 and were sourced from:

https://superpowerwinch.co.uk/ 

[img=https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&ogbl#inbox?projector=1]Our new solenoid in place.[/img]

We hope this may be useful to any 325/335 owners with boats of a similar age!

Have a good season,

Dennis and Anne Kell

Arenaria 325/21

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Many thanks for this very useful post. I have made a note of the solenoid.

Mike

Shemar 335/46

Hello Dennis and Anne,

That's very useful to know. At that price its's worth getting a spare. I went onto the web site but i'm not too sure which model you bought from your description except it was around £40.

Perhaps it was the PS12V which is £32 in VAT and I guess could be £40 in p&p.

post/PS12V 

Again, thanks for the research,

Best Wishes,

John Clack

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