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Just had a quick question regarding the swing keel. I am thinking of mooring my boat and at least one m25 owner that I have seen on the internet had to do restoration from a PO that stored the boat on the trailer w/ keel up and not resting on the trailer bunk. The question is does keeping the boat in the water with the keel up do any harm?

While I've never actually been on a Mac 25, I would think that storing the keel in the up position without a brace beneath it (i.e. trailer bunk) would but extra stress on the hoisting cable, probably shortening it's life considerably. Just out of curiousity, why do you want to store it on the mooring with the keel up?

Jared

I am still trying to decide exactly what my usage patterns will be, that and I was invited into yacht club with an available mooring. Anyways the depth of the water should be safe to leave the keel down, but I was worried about low water in the Potomac, and the keel digging into the mud or other mishap when I am not around. I could probably leave it down.

We've owned 2 Mac 25s. In our 1st marina the water was 25 feet deep and we left the keel down almost all the time. I've wondered about the keel moving back and forth and wearing out the trunk but never did really see a problem.

In another marina where it was shallow we kept the keel up. At first we kept it down but then the docks shifted and it dug in. We also kept the rudder up after having one break after it dug in the mud. I agree you don't want the keel cable taut when on the trailer but I think you're OK with the boat in the water. There will be a little more wear on the cable but at least the stress transferred to the hull will be distributed; not like when it's on the trailer and all the weight is on the bunks.

The wood sheet (probably particle board) with the electrical panel under the entry way should be in good shape. If it's warping or falling apart, replace it with plywood. It's easy to pull it out and use as a template for a new one. It's an important part of the structure of the boat and if it's deteriorating you liner may start to crack and the hull may deform. This piece transfers the force from the keel winch to the bottom of the boat.

Baldbaby,

Thanks for the reply, I finally brought the boat home on Saturday 03/26 and it still looks in pretty good shape, though I don't believe the PO had used it for about a year.

At any rate I need to do about a half-dozen gelcoat repairs, all of them either on the hull above the waterline or on the deck, and some work on the trailer. But about the entryway bulkhead; I am not sure if it is original but the electrical panel is beneath the dinette facing the companianway and the bulkhead looks to me to be 3/8'' plywood w/ a veneer and it felt pretty solid.

Hopefully I can take it out either this or next weekend.