Broken Keel Cable
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- Deckhand
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Fri May 20, 2016 4:41 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26S
- Location: Central Illinois
Broken Keel Cable
This year my keel cable broke. So now that she's out of the water I can get it up the lift and start working on it. Does anyone have pics from a keel cable replacement? I'd like to get what I need ordered so while its on the lift I can just fix the necessary stuff.
TIA
TIA
Re: Broken Keel Cable
Is your boat an X ?
If it is, then Macgregor and others on the forum suggest just using a rope.
You drop the keel by unbolting from inside the cabin under a hatch. Sometimes you have to force the sealant to let go.
Make sure you catch the keel as it dropps out.
Then you thread a new rope from the top of the cabin, put through the hole in the keel, tie a knot, add some sealant to the bolt, feed the holding bracket back up into the boat where it came from, (there are grooves to guide the bracket into place) replace the nut.
I was able to use the new rope tossed over the side so I could get to it under the boat to pull up and hold the new bracket when I replaced the nut.
Did the whole thing single handed.
Hardest part is getting the old sealant to let go and drop the keel. loosen the nut till it will protect the threads, use wood against the nut, hit with a hammer.
Lee
If it is, then Macgregor and others on the forum suggest just using a rope.
You drop the keel by unbolting from inside the cabin under a hatch. Sometimes you have to force the sealant to let go.
Make sure you catch the keel as it dropps out.
Then you thread a new rope from the top of the cabin, put through the hole in the keel, tie a knot, add some sealant to the bolt, feed the holding bracket back up into the boat where it came from, (there are grooves to guide the bracket into place) replace the nut.
I was able to use the new rope tossed over the side so I could get to it under the boat to pull up and hold the new bracket when I replaced the nut.
Did the whole thing single handed.
Hardest part is getting the old sealant to let go and drop the keel. loosen the nut till it will protect the threads, use wood against the nut, hit with a hammer.
Lee
- LoHo
- Chief Steward
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2015 9:56 pm
- Sailboat: Venture 2-22
- Location: Fresno, CA
Re: Broken Keel Cable
His signature says S...
Re: Broken Keel Cable
Apologies
Guess I still need to learn to read.
Guess I still need to learn to read.
Re: Broken Keel Cable
Order 2x the length of rope from bwy....use a tent pole to shove the rope down through the hole ....dive down run the line through the hole in the centerboard and since you got two times the length of rope you aren't trying to tie a knot under water surface tie your knot pull and trim rope ....much simpler...its a 5 min job at best this way
- Sumner
- Admiral
- Posts: 2375
- Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:20 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26S
- Location: SE Utah
- Contact:
Re: Broken Keel Cable
On our S I think the cable is still original and ....

... at the end of the cable is a crimped on fitting. Some have replaced the cable with a line. If ours ever fails I'd go back with the cable and fitting as I think it would last longer but would use a line if I had to for a temporary fix.

I have more on removing the centerboard on my site if that is ever something you need to do. On the early S's, mine is a 90, you remove the pin from the underside of the boat. Later S's have inspection plates inside the boat and you remove them to get to the pin....
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-40.html
Sumner
============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015
The MacGregor 26-S
The Endeavour 37
Trips to Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Canada, Florida
Mac-Venture Links

... at the end of the cable is a crimped on fitting. Some have replaced the cable with a line. If ours ever fails I'd go back with the cable and fitting as I think it would last longer but would use a line if I had to for a temporary fix.

I have more on removing the centerboard on my site if that is ever something you need to do. On the early S's, mine is a 90, you remove the pin from the underside of the boat. Later S's have inspection plates inside the boat and you remove them to get to the pin....
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... de-40.html
Sumner
============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015
The MacGregor 26-S
The Endeavour 37
Trips to Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Canada, Florida
Mac-Venture Links