my yacht, Sea lady, is just down the river from you at Arun Yacht Club. I have had many ups and downs with my keel over the years with it getting stuck half way down on one occasion, and a pronounced banging whenever I sailed over a big wave.

The keel got stuck when the yacht was out of the water on a pneumatic cradle. I climbed into the yacht to lower the keel and the mechanism jammed. In the end I had to remove the lifting mechanism and have part of it re-machined.

The banging has proved to be due to the fact that the keel lifting cables were too short (and have been for 30 years!). I have now replaced them.

I do not think it necessary to have the yacht out of the water to inspect the keel lifting mechanism. If you do want to see how the keel looks when lowered I suggest that you use the services of a yard that has a crane or a hydraulic cradle. Few yards will have cradles that support the weight of the yacht. Probably the nearest would be Brighton Marina.

Do you believe that you have a specific problem? Or do you want to just have a look?

regards

David

David Bamber

Thanks again

Mike

The way I've dealt with the keel is to have the boat lifted in from the trailer and held for a while before launching. The yard has a submersible tractor, and they lifted her off the trailer just before lunch, leaving me an hour to deal with the keel before she was dropped in.

I did the reverse when she came out at the end of last season, enabling me to pressure wash the keel before she was put on the trailer.

So it costs me a little more but unless I tow her anywhere the trailer stays dry.

Doug O'Malley

P235/55 Northern Sky

This is the start of the third season I have owned my boat.

Not knowing the service history I replaced the keel eye bolts last year, as it turned out unnecessarily, and used the grease, ‘Copaseal’, as recommended in an earlier post. Later on, and with the keel down in the water, I also applied Copaseal generously on the runners/rollers using a brush on a long pole.

Last year the yard lifted the boat, using a cradle, as they did today, enabling me to antifoul the keel. There didn’t seem to be a problem with old grease and the keel moved quite freely. Not so sure about the front 'rollers'; whether they actually roll, or the keel moves over them. For what it is worth, I plan to apply more grease this year and will probably inspect the rollers at the end of the season.

John

235/07 Diamond

To add to the other advice, Chichester Marina will lift you into there slings on a Friday afternoon, last job, and leave you there over the weekend, and drop you back first think Monday. This gives you almost three days to work on your keel. Of course it is not free, but you get a long time in the hoist for just one normal lift fee.

Alternatively, with your boat on trailer or cradle, ask a yard to lift the keel straight out through the top. You just need to unbolt the stainless steel bracket in the top of the keel. Make sure you block the keel underneath first. The keel will then come straight out.