Sagging Swing Keel

[Corsair II]

On my second time out with my '93 26S, I had a hard time getting the boat off of the trailer, as the swing keel is sagging onto the trailer with about 6 inches of it exposed. When I tried to slide the boat off, the keel was hitting part of the trailer which prevented it from going any further. What do I need to do to get the keel back into its proper position and not drooping as it is?

[Lloyd Franks]

Sagging how? Is the cable attached? If so, is it too long? You may have to shorten the cable and then rewind onto the winch. If it's broken, then of course it will need to be replaced.

[Corsair II]

The previous owner had a rigged line to the cockpit allowing the keel to be raised and lowered from there. The rope can be pulled as hard as it can and yet the keel is still extended about 6 inches. It releases fine, once in the water, but will not raise all the way even though the rope is pulled in all the way. Is the keel normally out of sight visually when on the trailer? When I bought it, it was sagging to the point of touching the trailer.

[madguy]

It sounds like the steel cable has been positioned in the wrong place making it to long. what you could try is when the keel is up as far as it will go have a look to see if the eye on the end of the steel cable in the cupboard is hitting the pully wheel or stop. if so you just need to shorten the cable with a steel eye and a couple of u bolts. that should do the trick.

If that doesnt work the position of the cable on the keel could be in the wrong place, i ordered a new keel from a supplier on this site and just fitted it, it was only when i used it i found that the position of the cable mount on the keel was in the wrong place.
Cheers

Madguy

[grady]

I would check to see if you can push the center board up into the trunk by hand. that would verify if there is something mechanical binding the center board.
If it goes up easy then you can look at the rope to see how it is routed.

[Chinook]

Grady's suggestion is a good one. I once had a piece of driftwood get stuck up in the centerboard trunk, which prevented the board from properly retracting.

[Corsair II]

Thanks. I'm on the road til the weekend and will follow your recommendations and let you know what I find.