Hi Geoff and Red.
I own Osiris, No 42.
I would like to think I am not the 1st person to do this, but who knows....?
Whilst winching out a reef in the main, downwind during a race I inadvertently flicked open the jammer on the keel halyard. I had just raised the keel about 20 - 30 cms ( well, another quarter knot in a race makes a difference!) The keel dropped down with a bump. The boat didn't start to sink and everything still seems to work well. Allowing for the velocity ratio on the keel blocks, and the volume of water displaced as it fell I am trying to convince myself that the keel end stops/supports are probably designed to cope with a dynamic load such as this!? After all when slamming into a rough sea (which I always seems to end up doing at least twice per season)the dynamic shock load on the keel supports must be quite significant. Since everything on the Parker seems so robustly engineered I am hoping I have not done any damage. Can anyone tell me what to look for when I am lifted out for the winter? I will book a half day in the strops to allow me to do this.
To add to this thread, I have found that regular squirts (eg every 2 weeks) of WD40 on the keel pulley blocks really does help with winching it up. Also my keel does not seem to vibrate or move around when it is up or down and we have slept overnight in quite "rolly" conditions. The rudder blade does "knock" in its housing and I usually pull this up at night which stops it.
Regards to all,
Peter White