Our Old Boat #7 Keels, Parts is Parts
by Pam and Dennis Slaton
(Article Appeared in September 1998 TellTales Publication)

In the "Our Old Boat #6" we discussed the fairing and refinishing of the keel surface and this is a very time consuming and ever ongoing issue, however without information on how to remove the keel (applies to swing keel only) from the boat one tends to have a huge problem. The swing keel is held in place with a keel pin that is fitted through the keel and into a keel hanger, which is in turn held in place by four bolts threaded into the keel trunk. The bolts should be routinely checked for corrosion and proper tension. Note the bolts should never be over tightened! Should the head of the bolt ever be twisted off, life as you know it will never be the same. No seriously, the bolt would have to be drilled to remove and then the threads chased or re-tapped, but that's another subject altogether.

The first step in removing the keel, whether to do refinishing work or simply inspect the hanger pin, is to prepare a plan of action to enable you to handle a 500 pound object safely. We will describe the process we go through and you can formulate your own from there.

The process of removing the keel or doing an inspection normally takes place while the boat is off the trailer and suspended between the two infamous pine trees, (a sling under the front of the boat attached to a come along on each tree, and stands under the transom), however it can be done with the boat on the trailer, but will take more ingenuity. Place a floor jack under the leading edge of the keel approximately six inches aft of the hangers, and raise the jack to contact the edge and take all the pressure off the hanger assembly. Now with the jack in place, you can loosen each of the four bolts and gently lower the keel to expose the keel pin. What you hope to find is a smooth unworn pin, but what you do not want to see is a pin that is dangerously thin from wear, (see photo #1) . It's easier to replace the pin than lose the keel!



A large part of the wear on the pin is generated from the slack fit of the keel in the keel trunk, allowing lateral movement of the keel while under sail or in the slip. Prior to lowering the keel you should inspect for proper spacing and be prepared to add spacer kit if needed. The wear on the pin is not the only problem generated from this movement, it also wears at the through hole in the keel. If this area is showing signs of wear, be prepared for an extended repair project (we will talk more in depth on this subject in the next article).

After all repairs and inspections are complete, you are ready to raise the keel back into position and refit the pin into the hanger assembly and tighten the bolts. Do you remember which way the hanger came out. Obviously the sailor whose keel hanger is pictured in photo #2 was confused - this is NOT correct.



The hanger should fit flush with the boat's bottom (see photo #3). Photo #2 is a picture of a boat found in dry storage and was not staged for this article!

(We would like to thank Pete Everill for the use of his trophy keel pin. This is what he found on hull # 2383, his new, old boat when he did an inspection!!)