That darn swing keel on my 26X

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PecosBill
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Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Grand Haven, Michigan

That darn swing keel on my 26X

Post by PecosBill »

I've read the posts about fixing the rope etc and have a question. The easiest looks like to put it in the water then fix it. However, the water temp is 56 right now. Nope, I'm not going in that water! :? So, crank up the trailer block the boat (don't let it slide off the back) and then lower the trailer. OK, question, how do you block up the boat? Is the center line strong enough to rest on a 2x4? OR, what do you suggest?

Thanks for the help,
Dan
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Tomfoolery
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Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'

Re: That darn swing keel on my 26X

Post by Tomfoolery »

If it's the original trailer, you don't have to crank, jack, hoist, or lower anything, other than the hanger at the top of the centerboard.
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Wind Chime
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Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada. 2000-26X, Suzuki-50hp, 8' Walker-Bay tender (with sailkit)
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Re: That darn swing keel on my 26X

Post by Wind Chime »

Consider, just dropping the swingkeel instead.
It's as easy as it sounds, just undo one bolt inside near the base of the compression post, and the keel drops on the ground. Done :).
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Egress
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Re: That darn swing keel on my 26X

Post by Egress »

The hangar bolt is inside the cabin near the keel line uphaul pole. The problem is the bolt has a nylock nut on it and is likely gooped up with a large amount of 3m 5200 or 7200. So do the best you can to get rid of the excess goop. The hardest part is pusing the hangar bolt thru. The best way to do this is to back the nylock nut to the end ( top ) of the bolt. There is no room to pound or strike directly onto the bolt to force it thru the goop. So use 2 hammers or something like that and place on the top of the bolt where the locknut is. Then bang away to your hearts content. This sacrifices the locknut but leaves the original hangar threads on the bolt in good condition so that you can reuse. Believe it or not it will slide right down on the trailer. There is enough room under the trailer without jacking it up for a fat guy like me to squeeze under and replace the rope which I believe is about 17' or 18' in length. Go ahead and do it, the hardest part is getting the bolt thru. After that is easy peasy. Good luck. If you destroy the nylon lock nut get a replacement at home depot or hardware store etc. is cheap only a few bucks if necessary.
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