Has anyone dropped the keel box assembly out of their boat? I sure would like to hear how you did it..Mine has been out once and here is how it was done.

The boat was lifted off its trailer with a large, non-mobile outdoor hoist at a repair shop in San Carlos, Sonora. The trailer was pulled out from under the boat and the boat lowered until the keel was touching the ground. I then removed the lift cable from the winch and removed the winch and the (10?) bolts (two are hidden under the winch!) that are on top of the winch plate. The boat was carefully raised 4 or 5 feet until the keel and its stainless steel support box was free from the hull. The keel fell over and was dragged out from under the boat and the boat was put back on its trailer. The keel was then sandblasted, the crush bumper in the notch at the top of the keel was repaired with foam and fiberglass, 3 coats of epoxy paint were applied, new shim sheets cut from 3/16" or 1/4" polypropalene sheet plastic were fitted, a brass bushing installed in the pivot pin hole in the keel so the pin fit properly and the keel no longer flopped around in the centerboard trunk, and new lift cable.

Installation was the reverse of removal, the re-built keel box supported under the boat on blocks while the boat was lowered down on the keel...The cable was fed up through the hole in the top of the centerboard trunk and the bolt holes lined up and the bolts installed. This required two tries as we had too much shim the first time and the box would not slip up into the trunk. Careful measuring beforehand would have prevented this...As it is, my keel fits snug and no keel movement can be detected when underway.

Another weakness is the bronze pully that allows the lift cable to make the right angle turn down into the centerboard trunk. If the axle hole in the pully hogs out, the pully will wobble and jam. I had to drill out the pully and install a bushing to correct this. I keep it greased and it has held up. If the cable jumps off that pully (because you didn't put the pin in!) and slips down to the axle and jams, you have a real mess to deal with. If you are underway in rough water, you can lose you fingers real quick trying to free/secure the snapping cable...

Emergency procedures if your cable breaks. I took about 15' of 1/2" quality yacht braid line and tied a loop or noose in one end. With mask and snorkle, I swam under the boat and slipped the noose around the center of the keel while holding the free end. Next step is to swim under the boat, reach up and stick that free end through the hole in the top of the centerboard trunk, you CAN reach it, and have a helper grab the line as you push it through. Get back onboard, congratulate yourself, pull that line tight and tie a knot so you can just barely get it hooked behind the notch in the lift drum and crank that puppy up! There will be some praying and finger grossing as this operation progresses. With luck, you can now get your boat back on the trailer...

Method two. Find a nice sandy beach. At high tide, beach the boat broadside, using anchors, come-a-longs, 4wd vehicles, local labor, whatever, pull bow and stern up on the beach. Then, leaving bow and stern secured, disconnect the outer shroud facing the beach and tie a heavy line to it reaching up the beach to where you can PULL on it! using a winch, come-a-long, vehicle, local labor, carefully pull the mast down. The boat will heal over easier than you think! Watch the mast carefully for any bending! As the keel becomes exposed, you can dig around it, make some room, 3 or 4 men can grab the keel and "work it out" of the trunk until you can replace the cable. Everyone should have a spare keel cable onboard...The pin through the keel holding the cable will probably be IMPOSSIBLE to remove. Forget about it! Simply loop the new cable (or the old one!) around the pin and clamp it with a couple of stainless or galvanized cable clamps. If you can get it around the thimble, fine. If not, don't worry about it for now. Push the keel back up in the trunk, (now you can pull it up with the winch!) Carefully release the lines holding the hull over on its side and prepare to work the boat off the beach bow first on the next tide. At high tide, someone with a powerful boat can stand off-shore and with a line on the bow and pull while beach helpers help spin the boat around and work it back into the water. The Midship hull design keeps the prop and shaft out of harms way. Depending on the beach, you might want to re-float stern first to protect them however..When I did this, beach helpers showed up with shovels and had shoveled out a lot of sand from under and behind the boat so she re-floated with little trouble. I hope this information helps someone..

Cheers and Fairwinds..

Hi Fairwind.  How was the keel box fastened to the fibreglass box of the boat?  In my boat I don't see any bolts that seem to be holding the stainless steel box in place.  When you lowered the boat to the ground, was the keel raised or lowered.  Did you lower the boat down onto the keel to lift the pins off the box?  Any further details would be greatly appreciated because I need to do some serious anti-rusting on it.

cheers
Albertan

We had the Keel re-done at "haven harbor" on the eastern shore of Maryland about 10+ years ago. Not too far from S. Jersey.
Lots of bolts that hold the box in. There are also poly strips at the bottom of the box that prevent damaging the keel (the box is supposed to work like a spring holding the keel on center).
Also note it's important to check the cable lift pulley on these things. I ended up making a new stainless steel variant as the original was just short of allowing the cable to drop out over the edge!



Steve Johnson