Swing Keel rope replacement

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davera20023
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Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by davera20023 »

How do I replace the rope that raises and lowers the swing keel. When my boat is on the trailer, the keel will not lower enough to access the point where the rope is attached.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Thanks,
Don
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Tomfoolery
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Tomfoolery »

Easy peasy. Undo the keel hinge bracket from inside the cabin and lower it down. It would help to have someone underneath to help lower it without it falling, or use a floor jack so you can lower it yourself. The CB line has to be unsecured up top, obviously. You'll probably need help to put it back up, as you have to line up the bracket bolt while raising the CB.
LeePierce
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by LeePierce »

The non-hinged end of the board is usually held up by the trailer, so if your existing rope is gone, when you unbolt the hinge bolt, the whole thing will drop which is why the suggestion to have someone under the boat or a floor jack.
If you still have a working rope, you can cleat it off with some slack enough to catch the hinged end of the board, and then lower it to the ground.
The pin that the board hinges on is not held captive in the bracket so will likely fall out once the bracket is free of the boat.
The hinges bolt through the cabin floor is usually sealed, so a good wack with a hammer on an extension (on the nut, not the bolt) helps to get it loose.
For re-installing, I used a keel rope long enough to drop over the side so I could pull the board back up while guiding the bracket and putting the non-hinged in into place above the trailer bunk.
Kind-a requires a foot, both hands, and possibly some teeth.
After the board was back in place I tied the rope off to the trailer so I could get in and put the nut back on.
Doing it over grass helped soften the experience for me and the board.
Remember to re-seal the bolt.
whgoffrn
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by whgoffrn »

If possible i would just wait till summer and do it while the boat is in the water..... blue water yachts will sell you the rope at twice the length which makes it easier so you can surface to tie a clean knot then pull it tight and trim off the excess

If its already broke use a tent pole to shove the rope down the hole. Cut old rope away with a knife in 1 breath surface ...dive down fish the rope through the two holes in swing keel and swim up with rope excess still in hand tie a solid tight knot from surface and pull up all slack 5 min job at best
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Sea Wind
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Sea Wind »

Whgoffrn’s suggestion is the easiest way. I have never detached the centerboard to replace the line. Tape the end of the old rope to the new one in the cockpit and just pull it from underneath. I tie the bitter end of the new rope to the mast and use the extra length to do the figure 8 knot while I can breath from surface.

If you want to do it now, you can raise the boat from the trailer with a jack and wood blocks, this depends on your trailer and where the centerboard sits.
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March
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by March »

I have replaced the portion between the keel and the upper deck with a wire coated in a plastic sleeve. From the upper end to the cleat--rope. Loops at the end of the wire attached to the centerboard with a bolt,
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Starscream
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Starscream »

Reviving an old thread, I removed my centerboard and rudders yesterday. First time in 18 years that the board has come out, and first time that the original centerboard line will be changed. I tried to change the centerboard line on the water last year, but without success. I didn't want to remove the original rope and then install the new one underwater, so I tightly taped the two lines together planning to pull the new one through the centerboard hole with the old one, but no way that was gonna work.

I raised my boat up off the trailer and put it on blocks, with the trailer still in place. I removed the trailer cross-beam that, of course, runs right underneath the middle of the board. I unbolted the centerboard hanger, and was able to drop it down about an inch before it stopped. I tried to knock it down with the driver, but it wouldn't move. I was gonna get a BFH and just whack it out, but then it occurred to me that it might be jamming on something in the centerboard trunk. Sure enough the hanger pin dropped down and was resting on a hollowed out piece of the trunk. If I had hammered the hanger, I would have had to hammer the pin through the hull fiberglass, so good thing I checked. I was able to squeeze the hanger sides together and pull it out from below.

Once it was out, I was really worried about how to get the hanger back in. We will see how that goes, but the boat does have a guide-groove in the centerboard trunk for the hanger that brings the threaded part of the hanger right up to the hole in the trunk. I gently used a drill to clean out the gunk in the hole to give me more chance of hitting the hole with the hanger. We'll see how that goes.

Here is the board. It was painted with Interprotect2000E and an ablative anti-fouling before I bought the boat in 2009, so it's been down there for at least a dozen years. The stop at teh top of the board has taken a beating. In the photo I have started sanding the top foot or so. There is a layer of grey-green freshwater slime over red anti-fouling over grey Interprotect over the gelcoat.
Image

After an 80 grit sanding followed by a 220 grit, here is the board. The interprotect held up very well except where it was impacted or worn away. There are still some tiny dots of red anti-fouling visible in the grey interprotect, but that's the best I'm going to do. More photos to follow.
Image
Last edited by Starscream on Tue Apr 07, 2020 5:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Starscream
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Starscream »

A new layer of Interprotect2000E. That's the old keel-line on the floor beside the centerboard. It used to be blue, I guess, although I always thought it was grey. It was in remarkably good shape, with the only real chafe occurring at an unexpected location. I thought it would chafe at the knot, or at the point where it turned down into the mast compression post, but it only really chafed at the trailing edge of the centerboard, about three or four inches back from the knot. You can see the chafe in the photo just up from the bitter end where I cut the knot off to remove the line.
Image

3 coats of VC-17m freshwater anti-fouling, super-smooth non-ablative paint. Going to turn "graphite" color in water. I did the rudders too.
Image
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Jimmyt
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Jimmyt »

I've always found it best to look at everything several times before resorting to the BFH on a project. :D Glad you looked before you smashed!

Board was in remarkably good shape for that amount of time. Finished product looks great! Thanks for sharing.
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Starscream
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Starscream »

And, just to make all of you salt-water sailors jealous, here is a photo of the original centerboard hanger after 18 years in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River:

Image

(Yes I cleaned it up a bit before the photo)

I was surprised that there is no washer under the mounting bolt. Seems like a lot of weight to put on a small area. Or maybe the washer is still in the boat, buried under the sealant around the hole, I'll have to look.
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Jimmyt
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Jimmyt »

Starscream wrote: Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:58 am And, just to make all of you salt-water sailors jealous, here is a photo of the original centerboard hanger after 18 years in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River:

Image

(Yes I cleaned it up a bit before the photo)

I was surprised that there is no washer under the mounting bolt. Seems like a lot of weight to put on a small area. Or maybe the washer is still in the boat, buried under the sealant around the hole, I'll have to look.
You're killing me! :cry:

If there isn't a washer or bearing plate, I'd be tempted to add one, though.
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Tomfoolery
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Tomfoolery »

Starscream wrote: Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:58 amI was surprised that there is no washer under the mounting bolt. Seems like a lot of weight to put on a small area. Or maybe the washer is still in the boat, buried under the sealant around the hole, I'll have to look.
Hmmmm - looks like mine. Ain't lake water great? :wink:

Mine has a big washer stuck in all that sealant. If yours doesn't have one, add one. But I'm betting it's there.
Tom
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Starscream
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Starscream »

Just had a look for the washer. There's so much sealant there it's hard to see, but a probe with a screwdriver confirms metal, so it must be a washer. Even harder to see because its behind the two 9 gal blackwater and flushwater tanks I have in that space.

Thanks for the comments guys, always much appreciated.
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Starscream
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Starscream »

Sure looks like there's a washer bonded in there.

Wondering what kind of sealant to use when I re-install the bolt? anyone think sealant is needed underneath, between the hanger flange and the centerboard trunk?

Image
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Tomfoolery
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Re: Swing Keel rope replacement

Post by Tomfoolery »

Starscream wrote: Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:34 pm Sure looks like there's a washer bonded in there.

Wondering what kind of sealant to use when I re-install the bolt? anyone think sealant is needed underneath, between the hanger flange and the centerboard trunk?
Only need sealant on top, IMO at least.

That hole is above the waterline, AFAIK, but it can splash and leak a bit if not sealed. Some 4200 is what I used when I pulled my CB to change the line.
Tom
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