I lower my keel by only 115 turns before the wires go slack. Do you think it is jamming? If so does anyone have any tips for freeing whilst still afloat (I am on a drying mooring)

Cheers

Hello Cadanski

Is it soft mud on your drying mooring?

What I do is wind a further 6 turns after the cables go slack, that should give you 1 inch of free cable, and just go sailing. The rougher the sea the quicker the silt will wash out from the bottom as the keel will tend to wiggle from side to side and forward and backward.

After a while check the slack to see if the keel has dropped some more. If all the slack has gone wind another 6 turns to slacken a bit more and carry on sailing. etc.

If the slack is not taken up this way then you may need to take the keel out to check what is wrong when you next lay up.

I would not overwind to much slack as the keel could drop quite suddenly with a thump, scares the life out of me, it is just like running aground on hard bottom when this happened once.

My keel on Aztec has 150 turns to fully down. I suppose all 28's are the same?

Now I have an electric motor driving my keel it is not easy to tell when the cables go slack, slight disadvantage but overridden by the luxury of having a push button to operate the keel from the cockpit.

Mike Edwards

Seal 28 "Aztec"

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Thanks Mike I have tried sailing with a little slack but it isnt dropping. I guess its going to have to wait till winter. Mind you lifting the keel out sounds a bit scary from what I have read.

Cheers

If this was caused by mud and silt and I was going to do this, I would make an open type frame about 16 or 18 inches high to mount the lifting mechanism on. Then you can lift the keel into the cabin and chock the bottom with wood, then remove the 2 bolts holding the cheek blocks on.

You then have 2 options, you could cover everything up and try pressure washing and scraping the inside of the keel case where the cheek blocks fit, to clean out the silt. Or you could somehow fit a detachable strop to the lifting strops and lower the keel to the ground, unclip the lifting mechanism, make a frame to support the keel vertically and lift the boat off the drop keel.

The problem could of course be something to do with the strops being the wrong length.

I am of course assuming they were all made identical and they did not change the thread on the screw.

Mike Edwards

Seal 28 "Aztec"

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Sorry for not thanking you earlier but I was away for a while, Cheers for that, that sounds like something I could actually do. If I got the cheek blocks clear of the case, Is it possible to stick something long and thin down the channel to perhaps work away at a potential obstruction, If so I could have a go while she is still in the water. Would that be possible ?

Regards

David

Hello Candanski

Yes it should be but you need a good stable raised platform to mount the lifting jack on. You will need to ensure good access to get your arm around and into the central channel. Access would be easier if you can prop the keel up from underneath then you can remove everything above the keel to give clear access.

Also the debris will probably not fall out of the bottom as there is normally less than 5mm clearance round the hole that the keel goes through. That is why I thought you may be able to make a cover and use a pressure washer to blast it all into finer pieces..

You will need to measure how far you need to lift the keel to clear the cheek blocks from the central guide slot. The measurements I gave earlier were a rough guess from memory. I think the cheek blocks are no more than 9 inches deap and the nuts are the same as the fixed keel nuts 1.25 inch socket(I think, best to check)

Mike Edwards

Seal 28 "Aztec"

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Sorry to be dense but I am just trying to picture what is going on, Are you saying that, at the point where the cheek blocks are clear of the slot and could be removed for access, the bottom of the keel will still be below the bottom of the slot and therefore blocking the easy removal of debris.

Regards

David

hello Candanski

Yes sorry you are right, if you lift the keel high enough it should clear the "hole" it passes through allowing the mud and silt to drop/wash out when yo pour water down.

Mike Edwards

Seal 28 "Aztec"

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Success, I was getting ready to build my support frame but thought i would try bashing it with a sash weight first. (The shape is ideal for this purpose, minimal splashing) after about 30 blows it fell. It stuck a few more times when winched back but each time fell after a couple of blows. After that it stuck no more. Perhaps a bit of rust or calcification. Very useful things to have on a boat, sash weights!!

Excellent

I suggest go for a long sail in choppy conditions with the keel just suspended above the bottom limit so it swings around in the slot to help flush things through.

Mike Edwards

Seal 28 "Aztec"

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