I just spent a jolly morning replacing the lifting eyes on the keel of my new boat. On re-assembly it struck me that the wire lifting strop needs something to keep it vertical (otherwise I imagine it could do a pretty could job getting jammed between keel and the side of the keel box). The manual shows a "Keel Position Gauge Strop" which would seem to do the job but the diagram is somewhat lacking in detail. Does anyone have any photos or descriptions of what it is, how it is attached to the mast and how / why it doesn't either fray rapidly or saw the keel box cover in half ?

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Firstly, hello, as the new owner of "Cressida" Sail number 63, recently bought from Exmouth and which has now completed it's journey from there to Loch Melfort on the West Coast of Scotland.

Cressida was winterised when I viewed her in March and now, after raising the mast it is not clear quite what the arrangement is or should be.

Like the OP says, the diagram doesn't give much assistance.

So I'm keen on asking the same question !

Something which has also puzzled me. When I purchased my boat there was a ‘greasy piece of string’ attached to the strop and mast. A few turns raising the keel, then rush forward to pull the ‘string’ so that nothing got trapped, then a few more turns, etc.

I have tried a number of alternatives, the most successful to date being a long elastic line from the strop up to an anchor point on the mast then down to the bottom of the mast. When the keel is lowered the elastic is stretched and visa-versa. Rather basic and works ok but it only seems to survive a few weeks before the elastic gives up and loses its tension. I also marked the elastic so that I could see how far the keel was down. Not successful as it was difficult to see from the cockpit. A better method I have found is to mark the keel halyard, I use every 30cm, and then you can see exactly how much has been lowered.

Very interested to see how others have approached this.


John
235/07 Diamond

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Hi

Our 235 "came" with a shortish length of thin line attached to the wire strop and a long piece of shock cord hooked to the thin line. The other end of the shock cord is tied to the root of one cross-trees. It seems to work OK in preventing the strop dropping and getting stuck. The shock cord certainly needs replacing from time-to-time but lasts at least a season with the boat on a swinging mooring exposed to the sun (when we have some?).

For judging the amount of keel extended, we have marked the keel rope like others although these marks (using marker pen) do fade.

Hope this helps

Regards

Chris

235/48 "Tarakihi"

I have VELA a 275 and the system I have rigged is a length of elastic from the spare keel strop up to a small block on the spinnaker pole eye and back down to the mast base to another small block then back up to the spinnaker eye again. This works well as when the keel is up the elastic pulls up the spare strop and eye which I secure with a bar above deck level. When the keel goes down the elastic simply keeps the strop out of the way of the keel slides and wheels. I had hoped to mark this and use as a keel level indicator but I now just unscrew a small inspection hatch and peer down the keel box to see where it is!
Alan - just for interest I keep my boat at Port Edgar in South Queensferry so you have added to the Parkers north of the border. I have however just taken her through the Forth and Clyde Canal, down the Clyde and she is now in Portavadie Marina Loch Fyne for the summer. Interesting trip not least the two days of 40kt storms we managed to dodge. Might see you in the summer if we come through the Crinan Canal.

I wanted to replace a short lived, small diameter, two part shockcord [aka John 235/07] running up to the Spi Pole ring and down to mast foot, with a much larger diameter one to give longer life.

Because the larger diameter has much less stretch, I had to make it longer.

Personally, I am not happy with the idea of one end being fastened anywhere that I cannot reach it [aka Chris 235/48], so I chose to lengthen it into a three part one [aka Andrew of 275 Vela], so that all parts remain easily reachable, and so that I can easily shorten it as it gradually loses elasticity with age.

As well as marking the tail of the keel uphaul rope for reference when in the cockpit, I have tied some bright red ribbon to the eye of the strop, which streams in the wind and makes it easy to judge the keel's position when out on deck.





Geoff Sheddick
Parker 27/146 "Stroller'

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On Dark Star, I have a 5-6mm shock cord up the front of the mast. There is a light line in a loop through the safety strop eye that connects to the shock cord just above the level of the spinnaker pole eye when the keel is up. I have a plastic ball at this point, and marks on the mast to indicate the mast being up, down and half-way. There a couple of s/s loops on the fore side of the mast for the shock cord to run through and be secured to.

The reason for the light line to be in a loop through the strop eye is so that it can act as a messenger to reeve a heavier line through the eye should I need to do so for recovering the keel if anything else has broken.

Dick
Dark Star P275 No 36

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This works (the upper block is simply tied round the mast above the halyard cleats)
http://s1361.photobucket...336_zpsc0b1383f.jpg.html 

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