Phil.

I don't seem to have a v shaped piece of nylon fixed in the after end of the slot, just the usual four nylon 'runners'or 'sliders' down the sides of the front and back edges of the keel itself. See the third photo (to the right) in my article .....

http://www.parkerseal.or...es/modsmaint/sskeel.aspx 

When I bought Elsa in 1982 I immediately asked Bill Parker about keel clonk. It seems that these 'runners' may not be quite thick enough and that the clonking is more likely to be the result of rolling not pitching.

Bill suggested fitting penny washers (which he sent) round the bolts between the 'runners' and the keel to pad them out a bit but warned about making them too wide with the result of the keel jamming lower down.

It appears that it is worth checking that the slot is exactly parallel all the way down. Mine is ... but I seem to remember one comment many years ago which suggested that there might be a very slight taper in some boats.I chickened out on the washers and fitted some strips of neoprene between the 'runners' and the keel instead. This worked a treat for many years but they have squashed and rotted in the 29 years I have had the boat and it clunks again.

If your problem is the result of pitching rather than rolling then this wont be of much use.

Chris. Elsa S/S 26 103

The clonk is definitely evident when the boat rolls. It looks like I have no choice but to pack out the "runners" as you have and no doubt others have. I think you may be correct when you say there could be a tapered keel boxes the trouble is Eira seems to be the wrong way i.e narrow at the top, wide at the bottom and I need to raise the keel fully when on my half tide mooring.

As a matter of interest there is a parker 27 in the club which has 2 nylon "guides" front and back.

There is another seal 26 in the club with no nylon "guides" how confusing is that?

Eira (It's Welsh for Snow and also a girls name) was built in 1979 sail no 34 her original owner kept her in Porthmadog N Wales she was sold to her second owner in 1998 and kept in Victoria dock Caernarvon N Wales. I bought her in June 2007 she came with an excellent racing pedigree. I keep her in Rhos on Sea. Last year we cruised to Isle of Man across to Strangford Lough down the East coast of Ireland to Howth.

Phil.

We get a small amount of noise from the keel occasionally, associated with rolling, but it hasn't been bad enough for us to feel we need to do something about it. However, a year after we bought Miss Fidget, we had a check done on the bolts that hold the nylon sliders on to the keel (the same arrangement as in Chris' photo of Elsa's keel), and it was found that the three bolts holding the aft slider were all loose, all were slightly bent and one significantly so. We'd looked for this specifically as it was mentioned in the handbook as a possible problem area, and we now inspect it as a matter of policy, though we haven't yet needed to replace the bolts again.

Best wishes

Gilliane

Miss Fidget, Super Seal 26, no. 69

When I bought rascal I had quite a bad keel knock. Most noticed when achoring in any swell (Dover Harbour on my delivery trip was first time).

Advice from a previous 26 owner was to fit penny washers as Chris's advice. It has solved most of the problem, perhaps a few more would make it even better.

Philip Linsell