02 Keel

Keel

Catalina 22 Technical Manual, 2001 2-1

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Your Swing KeelMain Brace, Summer 1982, pg. 23.

Ref Part Number Description1 D 27 02 02 – 230 Swing Keel Winch

D 27 02 02F Fastener Kit: (2) 3/8” 16” x 2¼” Slot RHMS, SS, (2) 3/8” Flat Washer, SS, (2) 3/8” Lock Washers, SS, (2) 3/8” 16 Hex Nut,SS.

2 D 27 02 03 – 285 Shim Ring, 1T – 123 D 27 02 04 – 230 Winch Handle4 D 27 02 05 – 100 Keel Cable, 7 x 19,3/16” x 10’ 0” W/Fork, SS.5 D 27 02 06 – 335 Reinforced Black Rubber Hose, 1¾” I.D. x l’ 0”6 D 27 02 07 – 519 # 28 Hose Clamp, SS.7 D 27 02 08 – 900 Swing Keel Turning Ball, Brass

D 27 02 09 – 900 Turning Ball Pen, 1 5/8” x ¼”, SS.8 D 27 02 10 – 900 1¼” x 4” Nipple, Bonded thru Hull9 D 27 02 12 – 512 ½”- 13 x 7/8” Keel Eye Bolt, SS.

10 D 27 02 13 – 900 5/16” x ¾” Flat Head Rivet, For Keel CableD 27 02 14 – 740 Cotter Pin, 3/32” x 1“ SS., For Keel Cable Pin

11 D 27 02 0l – 040 Swing Keel, Iron Casting12 D 27 02 15 – 900 Shoe Casting, Silicone Bronze

D 27 02 15F Fastener Kit: ( 1 ) 5/16” – 18 x 1¼” HHMB, SS. ( 1 ) ¾” Lock Washer, S.S.D 27 02 16 – 900 Hanger Bolt Weldments

13 D 27 02 17 – 048 Swing Keel Washer, White Nylon14 D 27 02 18 – 900 Swing Keel Pivot Pin, 1“ x 3 1/6”, Bronze15 D 27 02 20 – 900 Keel Locking Handle, SS.16 D 27 02 19 – 900 Keel Locking Strap, SS.

2 Keel

Keel


Keel Bolts

Keel BoltsBy Dick KingMainsheet, November 1989, pg. 110.

For the want of a nail the shoe waslost, and so on until the kingdom waslost. For some peculiar reason, severalboats in our area have recently sufferedthe beginnings of lost kingdoms, namelythe fracturing of a keel bolt.

The first incident probably happenedin conjunction with a broken keel cable.When the boat was lifted from the waterwith a fork-lift and placed in chocks forthe cable repair, the skipper noticed thatthat one of the four bolts holding the keelhangers was missing a head.

The second incident occurred whilethe skipper was performing maintenanceon the keel. He had removed the keel forrefinishing and was putting it back in theboat. As he was tightening one of thebolts, it snapped off, several threads upinto the "weldment" that the bolt screwsinto.

In each case, the pieces of the boltshowed little or no exterior corrosion,but the interior of the bolt looked grainy,like a bad solder joint. What happened,how can it be prevented, and how can itbe fixed, if it happens to you?

One of our fleet members, Tom Hett,has a book that, next to the Catalina 22technical manual, Life Savers, is one ofthe best books I have seen on rigging andmaintenance. The book is The OptimumSailboat, by Ronald Florence, publishedby Harper and Row for $27.50. (Timefor Christmas hints.) In a chapter oncorrosion, I found the following:

Stainless steels appear twice on thegalvanic scale. In their "passive" state,stainless steels are just below theprecious metals. In their "active" statethe stainless steels are below lead....Stainless steels are normally in thepassive state when a continuous supplyof fresh oxygen is available at the surfaceof the metal; when oxygen is denied tothe surface, the metal will revert to itsactive state.... Underwater, stainless steelis a less than ideal material, because anunderwater fastening or fitting willfrequently be partially or totally deprivedof oxygen and will turn "active", forexample, under a barnacle, or in the case

of a keel bolt, in the section that isenclosed by sealants. Once the "active"and "passive" parts of the stainless beginto react with each other, the result issurface or crevice corrosion, which intime can turn keel bolts, wasp-waistedand leave a shaft with deep crevices thatin turn invite cavitation and other formsof corrosion. If you do have stainlessfittings underwater, make certain that (1)they are type 316 stainless, which issubstantially more resistant to corrosionthan the commoner type 304 stainless,and (2) that they are frequently inspectedfor telltale pitting that may be anindication of serious corrosion.

I recommend the following to preventpossible corrosion problems: At leastonce a year, change all four bolts. Haulthe boat, and support the keel byblocking it up under the leading edgedirectly under the keel shoe castinglocation. Carefully remove one bolt at atime, and replace it with a new bolt andlock washer. The bolt is a stainless steel5/16 x 1¼ x 18 hex head machine bolt.They cost less than fifty cents apiecewith stainless lockwasher. Certainlyworth the price for peace of mind.

If you should be so unlucky as tohave one of the bolts break off as you aretrying to remove it, use a mechanic'strick which was passed on to me by TomHett. Clamp the head of the broken boltin a vice and drill a hole using a cobaltbit down through the center of the headand broken shaft. The hole should besized for the right sized "easy out." Thenreinsert the broken piece in the hole itcame from. You might have to use somecaulking to hold it in place. Using the

drilled piece as a guide, drill the piece inthe boat. Remove the head and insert aneasyout. Back out the broken-off piecein the boat and replace it with a new bolt.

If you renew your keel boltsfaithfully each year, you should not haveany problems with corrosion andbreakage.

Fair winds and smooth sailing.

Check Those Keel BoltsBy Buz GlassMainsheet, February 1992, pg. 60.

Yes, Catalina swing keel boatowners, check those keel bolts - often!Better yet, take a socket wrench andperiodically snug them up. The best way,of course, is to raise (unweight) the keelwith a hydraulic jack and snug the boltsup tight with a socket wrench.

Why am I so full of all this goodadvice? Let me tell you about a littleadventure I had!

I had just retrieved my Catalina 22from the ramp at Clearlake State Parkafter a 10-day vacation when Idiscovered one of the two plates thatsupport the forward end of the keel wasangled downward and one of the boltswas missing. The plate on the oppositeside of the keel seemed secure and nothaving the proper equipment to fix it Idecided to drive home as carefully aspossible and fix it later. This plan ofaction almost led to disaster.

When I stopped in Vallejo for lunch Ichecked the keel again and found thatboth plates were angled downward andtwo bolts were missing (there are onlyfour bolts holding the keel in place when

For want of a nail...

Keel


none are missing). I knew I was inserious trouble so I gingerly moved therig down the street and as luck wouldhave it I found a Toyota dealership openwithin one block. They loaned me a floorjack and some tools and gave me somebolts and lock washers, and in less than ahalf hour I had the problem corrected.But here's the kicker. When I first raisedthe keel slightly with the jack, I was ableto turn the two remaining bolts with myfingers!

Since only about 20% of the weightrests on the rubber "V" block thatsupports the aft end of the keel whentrailering, most of the keel weight is bornby the two plates and four bolts at theforward end of the keel. Had the tworemaining (loose) bolts let go whiletowing the boat on the highway, theforward end of the keel would havedropped to the pavement and in alllikelihood would have torn the bottomout of the boat. There's a good chancethis could have also caused a seriousaccident. Needless to say, a valuablelesson was learned and keel bolts will bea priority item with me when I'm movingmy boat from now on.

Tips On Keel BoltsThere are 2 additional ways to make

fast the bolts for the keel hinge. Tighten up the bolts and apply a dab

or two of "5 Minute Epoxy" to the boltheads and the surrounding hingeplate.This 2 part glue sets up in 5 minutes andis dry in 15 min. Work fast. To removethe bolts just tap the glue with a hammerand it will shatter away making it easy toremove the bolts. "5 Minute Epoxy" isavailable at any hobby shop or somebetter hardware stores.

The last way is to mark and drill asmall hole through each bolt head andwire the 2 bolts on each side together.Use fine stainless steel wire and the dragwon't be very noticeable.

Bolts That UnscrewOn the subject of C-22 swing-keel

hinge bolts, I had a problem nearlyidentical to that you reported at the topof column 1, page 3, Fall Issue 1978,"Main Brace."

I discovered my missing bolts about6 months after I picked my C-22 up at Ft.Walton Beach, Fla. Catalina Factory.

During this time, I had trailered the boatabout 600 miles and sailed it for about300 hours.

To correct the loose-or-missing boltproblem, I applied "LOCK 'N SEAL" toeach of the swing-keel hinge bolts'threads. Then, after the "LOCK N'SEAL" dried, I reinstalled the bolts.Unless you have a cradle and jack tosupport the keel, the "LOCK N 'SEAL"must be applied to the bolts one at atime.

This has worked well. Since Iapplied the "LOCK N' SEAL" I havetrailered the boat about 1500 miles,sailed it for two weeks in the FloridaKeys and for about 200 hours on LakeLanier in Georgia. I used to check thebolts for security each time I sailed butthe "LOCK N' SEAL" has worked sowell I rarely check any more.

"LOCK N' SEAL" may be purchasedat most automotive parts houses aroundthe Atlanta area. The manufacturer'saddress is Woodhill Permatex, 18731Cranwood Parkway, Cleveland, OH44128. (216) 475-3600.

More On Keel BoltsIn regard to the centerboard bolts

coming loose, I reset mine in ButylRubber Caulking Compound. This willadhere to most any surface but remainflexible so bolts can be removed forcleaning and pointing. A scrap of shagcarpet tacked or fastened to thin strip ofwood makes an excellent brush forpainting inside of centerboard trunk.

I noticed one thing in particular that Iwould like to pass on: quite a few boats,in my opinion, were attaching theirwhisker poles too low on the mast. Mineis at least four feet off the deck and Iknow that this works because I do mostof my passing of other boats down wind.

Another assist in handling the pole inputting it out as well as jibing: put a

small loop in the sheet when you attach itto the jib so that you can fasten the poleto this loop. In this way, it will nevercome loose when putting it out or jibing.

Bolt WiringIn aviation, we make great use of

stainless steel safety wire, with very goodresults. To safety wire the bolts, youmust remove each bolt (one at a time)and drill a .040" hole through the head ofthe bolts.

After drilling each bolt andreinstalling, the wire is installed so as topull each pair of bolts tighter. Note thewire is twisted so that the wire tends topull the bolts tighter, too. I wouldsuggest using .032 or.025 stainless steelaircraft type safety wire.

Keel Bolt Torque ValueBy Lowell Richardson

Editor's Note: The following was LowellRichardson's answer to a question aboutkeel bolt torque that was asked in theCatalina Direct email discussion group.

Question: How tight should the keelbolts be?

Lowell: The torque that Catalinarecommends for a Catalina 22 keel boltis 30 foot/pounds. Be sure that a torquewrench is used to check the bolts. Becautious to not over tighten. Stainless canbe sheared off by a surprisingly smallamount of torque. If you check the keelbolts a couple of times a year by simplytightening them a bit each time, youWILL break them off. Use a torquewrench and tighten to 30 foot poundsonly. Replace the keel bolts every fewyears... They're cheap!

Keel Bolt (5/16 x 11/4) and Lock Washer (5/16)

Keel


Keel Cable

WinchBy K. E. RichterEngineering Manager,Fulton Manufacturing Corp.Mainsheet, Summer 1983, pg. 43.

A work winch can be your bestfriend. It will hold a load for you andnever let go due to its built-in disc brake.However, like all of your otherequipment it requires care to ensure itsappearance and long life.

If you're using it in or around saltwater, clean the winch by rinsing withfresh water after each use. Better yet,coat it with a protective coating such asL.P.S.3. Do not under any circumstancesever allow any lubricant or protectivecoating to get into the brake system.This will result in excessive slippage anddefeat the braking action.

While we're talking aboutthe brake, keep an eye on thefriction discs. If the discs areworn to less than 1/16-inchthick replace them.

Some areas of the winchshould be kept well oiled,others well greased. Oilratchet pawls and all bearinglocations with a good gradeof 10W30 oil.

Grease the gear teeth witha good grade of Molybdenumdisulfide grease. Use thissame grease to lubricate thedrum bearing at least onceeach season. To accomplishthis, it is necessary to removethe drum bolt, noting whichway it is assembled into the frame, andslide the drum spacer out of the drum.Liberally grease the outside diameter ofthe drum spacer and reinsert it into thedrum using a rotation motion.Reassemble the drum and drum bolt in

the same orientation that it wasdisassembled. You're finished!

Always watch for any abnormal wearof the various parts and replace themwith the manufacturers service parts forproper fit and maximum life.

Keel WinchBy Dick KingMainsheet, November 1986, pgs. 53-54.

Has your winch been giving youproblems lately? I mean the one on yourboat. I mean the one that makes yourkeel go up and down. Please note winchis spelled with an "I".

If your boat isn't new, you may wantto take a hard look at the keel winchassembly. You can get a first impressionby sticking your head into the quarterberth area to see behind the drop panelbelow the companionway. However, toget full access to the winch you shouldremove this panel. The new boats have aremovable handle. On those prior to13000, the handle can be unscrewed byholding the shaft it turns, while you turnthe handle in the keel down direction.You may be shocked at what you find;RUST!!!! Unfortunately, the thing ismade of steel and steel and moisturemake a great combination for rust.When I replaced one several years ago, Ireplaced it with what I thought was agalvanized one. If it was galvanized, theplating must have been very thin! Sowhat do you do after you take a goodlook at the keel winch?

1. Clockwise rotation of thehandle tightens driveshaft gear against diskand ratchet gear androtates the drum to raisethe keel.

2. Counter clockwiserotation of the handle,allows slipping of thedrive shaft gear which inturn allows the drum tolower the keel.However, rotation of the drive shaftscrews it into the handle and againtightens the clutch disk against theratchet gear. Since the ratchet gearcannot turn in the "down" direction,the winch drums stops, unless thehandle continues to be turned.

If the winch shows any signs of rust, Irecommend you remove it and do somemajor corrosion control on it. If it lookstoo far gone, order a new one from thefactory. DO NOT USE A TRAILERWINCH AS A SUBSTITUTE. It is notthe same design and can severely injureyou, if you try to lower the keel with it. Ihad a winch like that on a different boat,

and it took several months for my threebroken knuckles to heal. Before youremove the winch, you must put the boaton a trailer and/or lower the keel until thesupport cable is slack. How does thecable look? You might want to considerreplacing it with your spare keel cableand ordering a new spare. What do youmean, you don't have a spare? Order onebefore proceeding any further. You needabout ten feet of 3/16 7x19 stainlesscable with an aircraft jaw swaged to oneend. I don't recommend using a thimbleand nicropress sleeves to make a loop inthe end of the cable. The nicropresssleeves may catch on the bottom of thekeel slot and damage the hull. Order twocable assemblies if you don't alreadyhave a spare. Remove the two bolts

Fulton K-Series K1051 (Brake Winch)

Keel


supporting the winch and pull the winchout from under the bottom of thecompanionway. Be careful not to let thewinch fall on the hose below it. More onthat later. Unwind the remaining cablefrom the cable winch and disconnect thebitter end from the winch drum. Make asketch of how the cable is connected, soyou know how to put the cable back onthe drum. Thoroughly wire brush allrusty areas and treat with any number ofrust treatments. For best results,carefully follow the makers directions. Ihave had very good success with"Extend" made by Duro. If you removethe drum, you can get better access to thedrum and the rest of the winch assembly.The newer drums have a larger spindle(approx. 1.5 inch diameter). Therefore ittakes less turns to raise and lower thekeel and creates less wear and tear on thekeel cable. To build up the diameter ofthe drum spindle, simply wrap thespindle with 2 inch fiberglass cloth tapesaturated with epoxy resin, until thedesired diameter is achieved. Removethe circle clip in the drive shaft. Thiswill allow you to slide the drive shaft toone side to clean and regrease thebushing at the other end. To gain accessto the bushing at the other end, you mustknock out the small bushing so the driveshaft can be removed from the winchassembly and must be pressed with a pairof water pump pliers. Make sure thedrive shaft is reinserted in the smallbushing before it is pressed into place.Do not allow any grease to get on the slipclutch surfaces! Grease the bushing andaxle on the drum as well. Paint thewhole winch assembly, except thebearing surfaces, with a good qualityepoxy paint. When the paint is dry,reassemble the winch.

While the paint is drying, go back tothe keel cable and the hose I referred toearlier. The hose allows the cable to gothrough the bottom of the boat but keepsthe hole above the waterline. Make surethe top of the hose has not been worn bythe keel cable. To prevent wear on thehose, measure its inside diameter andobtain a short section of schedule 40PVC pipe which will fit snugly into thehose. Before you reattach the keel cableto the keel winch, thread a one inchlength of the schedule 40 PVC pipe overthe cable and into the end of the hose.Hold it in place with a hose clamp.

If you decide to replace the keelcable, I highly recommend you find afriend with a trailer, if you don't have atrailer of your own. If you can hold yourbreath for a while or have SCUBA, youcan detach/attach the jaw on the end ofthe cable to the screw eye in the keel.However, its a lot easier with the boatout of the water. If the keel cable isbadly kinked or has lots of brokenstrands, cut it off about one foot abovethe end of the hose. Tape a piece ofstrong cord, no larger than the cable, tothe end of the cable, being careful to tapeit securely while keeping the taped jointto the smallest diameter possible. Thejoint must pass through a slotted ball atthe bottom end of the hose. Pull the oldcable out from underneath the boat anddisconnect it from the cord. Tape theend of the new cable to the cord andcarefully pull it back through the hose. Ifthe boat is in the water, I suggest youmake the cord long enough to reach backinto the cockpit, so the end of the newcable can be taped to the cord out of thewater. When you attach the new cablejaw to the keel, inspect the clevis pin andreplace it if it is worn. ALWAYS USEA NEW STAINLESS STEEL COTTERPIN! Attach the end of the cable to yourrefurbished winch and carefully wind thecable onto the drum, as tightly as youcan. Be sure to rotate the wholeassembly to remove any kinks that beginto form in the cable. Bolt the winch inplace under the companionway, beingsure to caulk the screw heads to preventmoisture from getting into the holes.

Before you reinstall the drop panelover the winch, put the boat back in thewater, if it is not already there. Lowerand raise the keel a few times to let thecable wraps settle properly on the winchdrum. If all works well replace the droppanel and go sailing. You have earned it.If not, curse me, then call me and we'lltry to figure out where the process wentwrong.

We recently received a letter fromRidge Gardner whose friend, KathyLandis, had a problem on a relatedsubject which you should be aware of.Check the bolt which holds the ratchetpawl to the side of the winch assembly.

"The nut retaining the 5/16 hex boltwhich is the axle for the ratchetmechanism backed off, allowing themechanism to fall apart. If the swingkeel had been up serious problems could

have resulted from the board crashingdown. What we didn't know until then,was that when Kathy took delivery of thenew boat two years ago, the retaining nuthad been filed down and the end of thehex bolt cut closely to allow room for theplywood trim panel ... I have replacedthe bolt with a longer one, and an aircrafttype lock nut to secure it. Then I cut thebolt flush with the head of the locknut. Ihad to cut out a small piece of the trimpanel next to the winch handle, therebyexposing the nut. Cathy and I feel this isa small price to pay for a much saferoperation, and suggest that everyonecheck their boat and make the propermodifications if necessary."

Thanks for the input Ridge! You allkeep those cards and letters coming.

Fair winds and smooth sailing.

When The Keel CableBreaks

I'm lucky I don't need to buy afuneral for the diver who got hit by myswing keel when the keel cable broke. Afriend of mine was knocking off the bigbarnacles and mussels and told me tocrank the keel up while he watched itfrom below. At the top of the arc I gaveit one last crank to snug it in. The cableparted at the swags and fell with aterrifying double thunk – the kind thatmakes you feel sick. I assumed that Ishould get out before it sinks. Then Iremember the diver! Bubbles were stillcoming up and in a minute so did he,kind of wide eyed and breathless. Yes,the keel hit him but only a glancing blowand wonder of wonders the boat hadn'tsunk. The diver told me that six monthsago he had run his hand up and down thecable looking for the telltale burrs andhad not found any. On this occasion hehad found one but didn't think itimportant enough to tell me. The cableon the winch looked fine and I had keptit greased and made sure it rolled upevenly. For others who might wonderhow to jerry-rig in order to get the boatout, here is how I did it. I ran the partedend thru the U-shaped fitting stillattached to the keel and secured it with adouble nut (35 cents) cable a clamp –probably a good article to carry aroundfor special occasions.

Keel


How To Sink A C-22I accidentally sank my boat at the

dock because I had a loose wire comingfrom the hose at the keel winch. Thiswire had been frayed for a couple ofmonths but I had not done the propermaintenance by cutting off this loosewire. I was even warned: It had tangledin the winch cable 3 or 4 times before.This time, as I docked, I gave the winch"one more turn" to get the keel all theway up as I was about to depart. TheBoatyard called me early the nextmorning with the "good news". The hosehad pulled off the neck of the tube wherethe cable passes through the bottom ofthe boat!

Keeping Your C-22 FromSinking

Just before entering our cove, weraised the keel on our C-22 since thewater depth is only about 4 feet at theentrance.

The following day was equally asnice and we had invited guests to enjoy aday on the water. After everyone wasaboard, I arranged our gear and openedthe cabin step to put beverages in thecooler. I was absolutely shocked to seethat my keel cable hose had pulled loosefrom its connection to the hull, and a 1¼" stream of water was gushing into ourboat!

Immediately, I tried to put the hoseback in place but It wouldn't budge, the

top of the hose was caught in the winch.So I cranked the winch down 3 or 4 turnsand this freed the hose, but it stillwouldn't fit over the neck of the hullconnection until the lower clamploosened. The hose was then slid intoplace and secured with no further leaks.Evidently the hose had just now pulledoff since only an inch or two of waterhad accumulated in the bilge.

Being a mechanical engineer for asmall company, I have had quite a lot ofexperience diagnosing malfunctioningequipment and went to work on thisproblem the first chance I had.

I believe that over the years the keelwas raised and lowered many, manytimes. Each time the cable moved up ordown it wore away some of the rubber atthe top of this hose. Eventually the steelhose reinforcing became exposed andbeing like a compression spring undersome load extended itself up beyond theend of the hose. As we raised our keelon the previous day this steel reinforcingcoil from the hose got caught under theS.S. cable in the winch. This winch is sopowerful that it could pull both the keeland the hose up without it being thatnoticeable to anyone. The magnitude ofstress on the hose at this point was sogreat that it pulled 2 ½ turns of steelreinforcing out the top of the hose andstretched the rubber all the way up towhere it had just entered the grip of thewinch. Even though the hose clamp atthe bottom was tight it was fighting aloosing battle against all of this force,

and finally pulled off.Looking at the height of the

fiberglass neck on the hull and since ithas a spherical roller inside, one mightthink that only a little water could get inthere, but I assure everyone that thewater comes in fast.

To try and prevent this conditionfrom repeating at a later date I havedesigned a split nylon ring that would fitin the top of the hose and act as anexcellent wearing surface beside the S.S.cable. So far it works great and I canrelax without sticking my head under thehatch every time the keel is cranked up.

I feel that we were very lucky that thehose remained attached to the lowerconnection under such stress until weapparently rocked the boat whileclimbing aboard.

We kept thinking, suppose we haddecided to sleep aboard that night andthe hose had slipped off about 1 AM andsilently began flooding the bilge. Orsuppose we had put our C – 22 on thetrailer that day and the hose slipped off(under all that stress) as we traveleddown the highway. This would not be aproblem at the moment however it wouldif it went unnoticed the next time welaunched and we got 3 or 4 miles outfrom the nearest point of land anddiscovered that we had been taking onwater. The leak might not be that easy tofind especially if we were on a cruise andhad all of the hatches stuffed with food &clothes.

Keel Hose

Nylon ring to prevent hose reinforcing wire from pulling out.

Keel


Keel Pivot

Retractable KeelModificationBy Catalina YachtsMainsheet, Fall 1983, pg. 50.

After extended use, some retractablekeel Models 22 and 25 may develop playin the retractable keel assembly.

When the retractable keel makes athudding or gentle banging sound whenthe keel is up or when tacking, this mayindicate that the hole through the keelcasting at the pivot point is worn andenlarged, or that the keel is movinglaterally in the trunk.

Retrofit kits are available forinstalling centering spacers to stop lateralmovement and new design hanger blocksare available to repair worn keel pivotholes.

Centering spacers (see illustration)restrict movement of the keel laterallyand stop it from contacting the side ofthe trunk. Centering spacers areavailable for retrofit in existing keels.Centering spacers may be installed onexisting boats without removing the keelfrom the boat.

A fairly simple method has beendevised for correcting play in the keelhanger assembly. This repair requires

replacing the keel hanger block castingswith larger castings which are thenground to a close tolerance fit to the keelon installation.

The larger hanger blocks will helpstop the keel casting from movinglaterally on the pin and minimizemovement at the keel tip.

Both centering spacer kits and newhanger casting kits may be orderedthrough your Catalina Dealer or directlythrough Catalina Yachts, Parts Dept.,P.O. Box 989, Woodland Hills, CA91367.

The price for each kit is as follows:

Centering spacer kitincluding all Parts,adhesives, handling andfreight

$12.00

Hanger casting replacementkits including parts andinstructions – plus $5.00for shipping and handling

$65.00

Please include your hull number inall correspondence. Prices are subject tochange without notice.

That "Bonking" SoundAt night, when the boat pitched in the

waves, the swing-keel made a "bonking"sound which we thought odd. Wecontacted the previous owner and hesaid, "that's the way it is and you have tolearn to live with it". Foolishly, we did.Well, about a month later we pulled intoport and found the fiberglass around thekeel lockpin bracket cracked and theboat was taking on water!

Ultimately, it turned out that the keelpin spacers were missing (they probablywere missing when the previous ownerbought it) and that caused excessive wearof the keel and pin. After speaking to aCatalina engineer, we had the keel holebored out, a silicon-bronze bushingwelded in (you must use bronze weldingrod!), a new pin made, and replaced themissing 90¢ spacers. After patching thefiberglass around the lock pin,everything seems fine.

Keel Wobble RepairThe trunnions are too far apart and

allow the keel to wobble and work on thepin and the trunnion bolts. My solutionand/or partial remedy is to install 2-2"dia. bronze washers on each side of thekeel. This seems to cut down on thewobble. I suggest by slight productionmodifications the factory couldovercome this.

The second weakest point is the keellock down bolt. If you tighten it downtight enough to hold the keel you areputting side stresses on the keel trunnionand pin. There should be a pad on thestarboard side of the keel trunk so thatwhen the pin is tightened, it hassomething to bear against.

Note the gap between the keel and the old-style keel hanger castings.

New Type Keel Hanger Castings

New-style hanger casting eliminates lateralmovement on keel pin.

Keel


Swing Keel MaintenanceBy Dick KingMainsheet, May 1988, pg. 72-73.

Tired of hearing that annoying thumpevery time you tack? When you'reanchored out sipping a little wine andwatching the sunset with the one youlove, is the mood destroyed by thebanging about of the keel? When youhaul the boat, does your keel resemblethe pendulum of a grandfather clock? Ifyou suffer from any of these or othermaladies, you are in the "worn out keelpin hole zone."

The swing keel requires so muchmaintenance that Frank Butler wasprompted to design a fixed winged keelfor our beloved boat. (Competitivepressure from other builders aside, ofcourse.) The winged keel offers almostthe same keel-up draft without the all ofthe maintenance problems of the swingkeel. However, I am not trying to sellyou a winged keel model, but rather totell you how to restore serenity to thesunset watching.

The pivot pin hole gets the outsideedges worn, creating a rounded pivot forthe keel (Figure 1).

In extreme cases, the hole can beworn to the point where it is alsoelongated (Figure 2).

Wearing of the hole is caused by therocking and rolling of a boat at docksideor mooring. It can also be caused bytowing the boat with the keel suspendedby the cable, instead of supported by akeel block or chock on the trailer. Lotsof sailing hours can also contribute. Thefix, of course, involves restoring the holeto its original cylindrical shape bydrilling the hole oversized and installinga bushing. The bushing in my keel haslasted four years with barely noticeablewear.

To gain access to the keel pin hole,the keel shoes that retain the keel pivotpin must be unbolted from the bottom ofthe boat and the keel lowered about 4 to6 inches. Depending on how bad thehole is worn, it may be need to be drilledfrom 1¼ to 1½ inches in diameter.Check with your local machine shop,marine yard, or tool rental to obtain thedrill motor and bit. How do you get thenecessary clearance above your trailer tolower your keel that far? Send a stamped($.39) self-addressed envelope, and I willsend you a detailed procedure for raisingyour boat off its trailer.

Once you have the boat about fiveinches above the trailer, support theforward end of the keel with a hydraulicfloor jack and remove the four boltswhich hold the shoe castings to the keelwell. If you have the old style casting,(inside edge flush with the sides of thekeel trunk) you will need a thin wallsocket to remove the 5/16 inch hexheadbolts. When lowering the keel, makesure to lower the aft end with or beforethe forward end so that the aft end of thekeel does not rotate up into the bottom ofthe boat and damage it. The keel cablewill help keep the keel from falling over,but a 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 against each side ofthe keel and clamped to the trailer willalso help (Figure 3).

A five foot 4 x 4 with a piece ofslotted plywood nailed to it can be put ontop of some concrete blocks to hold thekeel in a vertical position after it islowered (Figure 4).

While you have the keel lowered,there are four other things to do.

1. Check the area of the keel trunk,which is normally inaccessible. Clean itthoroughly and apply a couple of coatsof bottom paint, even if you sail in freshwater. It will prevent marine growthfrom forming where you can't clean itoff. An effective (albeit messy)

applicator is a cotton rag wrappedaround the end of a dowel. A friendhappened to mention that his keel was"fully down" after ten tens. He waswondering why he couldn't point verywell. When he bought the used boat ithad fresh "bottom job". However, thetrunk had never been painted. We founda barnacle buildup so bad, it preventedthe keel head from rotating fully into thekeel trunk. Buyer Beware!!!

2. Inspect the keel cable! If it isworn or kinked, replace it with the spareone you ordered from the factory. If youdon't already have one, order it now andkeep it on board. It is a lot easier to do itnow, than diving under the boat. Aneasy way to replace the cable is to thinlytape a five foot piece of cord to the upperend of the old cable and pull the oldcable down out of the boat. If the oldone has lots of kinks or fish hooks, cut itoff just below the winch drum. Tie theother end of the cord to the winch toprevent it from falling out of the boat.Tape the end of the new cable to thepiece of cord, and pull it back throughthe keel cable hose. Make sure the wireseats properly in the groove of the ball atthe bottom of the hose. Attach the newcable to the winch and wind it on thedrum while a helper pulls tension on itfrom below. When the fork on the endof the cable is at the right height, attach itto the keel eye bolt with a new clevis pin

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Keel


(if it is worn) and a NEW STAINLESSSTEEL cotter pin.

3. Install the keel spacer kit (whichyou ordered after reading this article) onthe head of the keel. The spacer kitconsists of some fiberglass wafers whichare bonded to the head of the keel. Asthe head of the keel rotates up into thekeel trunk, it is centered and preventedfrom moving sideways by the spacers.The kit is easiest to install when the keelis lowered. Detailed instructions andbonding materials are provided in thefactory kit.

4. Clean the part of the keel that isnormally up in the keel trunk. If you area salt water sailor, paint it with bottompaint. Now comes the hard part! Thekeel pin hole must be drilled to astandard oversize for a 1 inch I.D. oillitebronze bushing and the bushing pressedor driven into the hole. Order thebushing slightly longer than the length ofthe pin hole. After the bushing isinserted, it can be ground off flush withthe sides of the keel. Make sure toprotect any exposed surfaces of the keel

to prevent rust and corrosion. Theprocess of driving the bushing in willlikely compress it slightly, so that a brakehone will be needed to restore the 1 inchI.D. hole. Inspect and replace the keelpin if it is worn. I replaced mine with apiece of 1 inch propeller shaft cut to thesame length as the old pin.

If you have the old style shoecastings, I highly recommend youreplace them with the new design. Theold ones have a wide gap between them,which allows the keel to move back andforth on the keel pin with every tack(THUMP!) The new castings are wider.In fact they are made so wide that theyhave to be ground off to allow the keel tofit between them. Mount the shoecastings in the boat and measure theminimum clearance between their insidefaces. Subtract the maximum thicknessof the keel within a 4 inch radius of thepin hole. If you plan to use the Delrinkeel pin washers (I recommend you do),subtract an additional ¼ inch. If theremainder is negative, divide it by 2 andremove that amount of material from the

inside face of each casting. In this case alittle too much is better than a little toolittle, because the holes of the shoeswon't line up with the threaded holes inthe boat if the shoe, spacer, keel, spacer,shoe assembly is too wide. In case this isall very confusing, the factory providesdetailed instructions with the shoecasting set.

To reinstall the keel, insert the pin inthe keel, and put a Delrin pin washer andshoe on each end of the pin. Jack theforward end of the keel up into the keelslot, while raising the aft end of the keelwith the keel winch. Use a pin punch toalign the shoe casting holes with thethreaded holes in the keel trunk. Makesure the flat side of the castings with thecountersunk holes are facing down. Theflat sides of the castings should be flushwith the bottom of the boat, when theyare fully seated. Use NEW STAINLESSLOCK-WASHERS AND DO NOTOVER TORQUE THE BOLTS.Reverse the boat raising procedure, andplan a quiet romantic sunset party.

Fair Winds and Smooth Sailing.

Keel Pin WearBy John C. GroganMainsheet, May 1990, pg. 99.

The adage "If it's working, don't fixit," does not apply to sailboats. I'vealways done my own annual maintenancework on my 1976 (#5679) swing keel,Irish Mist, and every year I've postponeddropping the keel for an in-depthinspection of the keel pin and hangerfittings. This year, fortunately, I droppedthe keel and discovered that the 1"diameter silicone bronze keel pin wasseverely worn to a diameter of about1/2". (See Fig. 1). The keel in the areaof the pinhole was badly corroded,forming an elliptical hole. The remainderof the keel pin assembly was in excellentshape with no apparent evidence of wear.

It is my opinion that this keel pin

wear was due to galvanic corrosion ofthe keel, producing an almost knife-edgesurface bearing on the pin. (See Fig. 2)In galvanic corrosion, a current is

generated between two dissimilar metalsimmersed in an electrolyte (fresh or saltwater). This current flows from the leastnoble cast iron keel to the bronze pin. Inthe process, iron particles are corrodedaway, producing the damaging sharpedges around the keel pin hole.

To better evaluate the pin damage, abrief history of the boat should providesome measure of comparison ofcorrosion and pin wear for other swingkeel boats. Irish Mist has been a veryactive boat for all of its 13 years. Theboat was in fresh water for about 6months a year for 9 years, and in saltwater 12 months per year for the last 4years. Total sailing time is calculated at

about 3000 hours, along with at least5000 miles of trailering.

Sacrificial zincs were installed on thekeel for the last 4 years, during all of theFlorida salt water exposure. I feel thatthe zincs are effective in minimizingcorrosion due to the fact that my two(one per side) 4', diameter, R-3 zincs arejust about completely dissolved after 12to 15 months in salt water.

My zincs were installed with the keelfully retracted by drilling a 1/4" hole

through the 2" thick keel at a point 7.5"below and 5.5" aft of the keel pincenterline. The keel's protective coating

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Keel


has to be removed under the zincs toinsure an electrical contact between thecast iron and the zinc. Needless to say,cast iron is very hard, and the drilling isdifficult.

Based on the severe environment andthe boat's usage, it is hard to default thedesign. Catalina Yachts claims theyhave no knowledge of any failures of thekeel assembly, the exception beingfailures due to the loss of the four 5/16"diameter by 1.25" stainless steel keelretaining bolts, because of impropersafety of the bolts. Has anybody hearddifferently?

My fix was considered temporary andconsisted of grinding the sharp knife-edge area of the keel hole to providesufficient bearing area to minimize pin

wear. A new factory-supplied pin wasinstalled and will be checkedperiodically for wear. There wasadequate keel material above the hole, sothat edge distance strength margins arehigh. No other safety problems wereevidenced.

The recommended repair, of course,is to install a bushing. This procedurewas described by Dick King in the May,1988 Mainsheet. He also discussedprocedures for dropping the keel in thesame article. Keel wobble has beenreduced by the installation of a spacer kitoffered by Catalina Yachts.

As mentioned above, keels have beenlost when the 5/16" keel retaining boltshave backed out. My fix has been to fillthe area around the recessed bolt heads

with Marine Tex. Only 1/2 of the bolthead of each bolt is filled, to helpremoval. A small woodworking chisel isneeded to remove the hardened epoxy --a time-consuming method, but effective.I would not trust the lock washers bythemselves.

As a point of interest and a credit toCatalina Yachts, there is no sign ofosmotic blistering from the 13 years ofextensive water exposure.

I hope this discussion promotes someserious thought regarding the inspectionof your swing keel assembly. Yourinspection timetable will depend uponboat usage, time in salt or fresh water,use of zincs, and the age of the boat, etc.If in doubt, drop the keel and INSPECT!

Swing Keel SwingBy Ted WileyMain Brace, Spring/Summer 1983, pg.12.

Many Catalina 22 owners who haveolder (6 to 10 years) swing keel boatsbecome annoyed with the thumping andclunking that generally takes place whensailing a rolling sea, especially on a run.Several quick-fix ideas have been tried toalleviate this aggravating thump, butmost do not succeed. The problem existsbecause the hole in the keel which thebrass hanging pin fits through hasbecome larger, elongated, ovaled,beveled, or in short, worn (See Figure 1).If you trail your boat a lot, the holebecomes elongated from the long hoursof vibration over bumpy roads. If you

sail rough water a lot, the hole will berounded on the edges and usually larger.Regardless of how you use your boat,just like a person, it changes with age.

Do not despair. There is a cure.However, unless you own a boatyard andmachine shop, you can't do it yourself.Before I discuss the fix, let me convinceyou that many problems (all worse thanthe thumping) can result if you do not fixyour undulating keel. The lock downbolt will receive extreme pressure if youuse it to tighten the keel to the starboardside of the keel well. Eventually thispressure will cause the lock down bolt toleak from stress cracks.

Some people have tried using largespacers to stop the side to side swing.Spacers will only help slightly and willnot take care of the problem. As theproblem gets worse, added strain to thekeel hinge bolts can cause stress cracksin the well area which in turn will leak.In some boats, steel plates have beenbolted to each side of the keel with holesjust the size of the hinge pin to extendthe hinge pin hole. These put addedwear on the brass hinge pin and cut intothe pin.

In short, none of the backyard fixesare very successful. I recently discussedthe problem with Mr. Butler fromCatalina Yachts and he assures me theyare aware of the problem. CatalinaYachts is considering several options tocorrect the thumping and Mr. Butler'splans are to share his best thoughts withthe Main Brace in the near future.

However, if your problem is urgentenough and you want to make acorrection now, consider the following.

Remove the keel or have it removedby a shipyard. If you try to remove ityourself, be sure to have on hand oneadult amazon, two gorillas, and one largewolly-wolly. It weighs 550 lbs. Take itto a machine shop that can square it to adrill press and ream the hold to a 1-½inch in diameter. Then insert a ¼ inchwall sleeve or bushing that is made ofiron or brass. The bushing should fitsmoothly over the hinge pin (See Figure2). With any luck, the bushing will lastanother 6-10 years at which time you willbegin to experience the old thumpsagain.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Keel


Replacing a Swing KeelPinBy Frank EmbonMainsheet, February 1993, pg. 72.

Listening to the "klunk-klunk" of theswing keel on my 1977 C-22 on hermooring made me wonder whether or notthe keel pin needed replacing. With thehelp of Backyard Boats, our ChesapeakeCatalina dealership, I purchased thebronze keel pin and the four stainlesssteel machine bolts and lock washers. Iwas surprised to find the keel pin wasonly 1" in diameter.

I modified my Shoreline trailer byadding two 2" x 6" x 8' carpeted runnersabout 6" on each side of the keel. Thisgives much better support to the boat asit rests on the two outside carpetedrunners, which are about 1' below thewaterline. However, in order to work onthe boat bottom, I "float" the boat off thetrader runners onto a cradle made of 4" x4" timbers. Then I remove the carpetedrunners to get at the keel.

I next bolted four 2" x 4" pieces ontothe runner supports so the ends of the2x4s were perpendicular to the keel andabout 1/4" away from the keel. Theseare necessary to keep the keel in propervertical position as you lower it. I thenlowered the keel until the back of it wasabout 4" lower than the front. Using C-clamps, I clamped a piece of 2" x 4"scrap between the two rear runnersupports, to keep the back of the keelimmobile.

I then placed a 2-ton hydraulic trolleyjack exactly under the keel pin and raisedthe keel 1/8" - just enough to take thepressure off the keel pin. I removed thefour stainless steel machine bolts andvery slowly lowered the keel to exposethe keel pin. The keel was then levelwith the ground, and I placed anotherpiece of scrap lumber under the front ofthe keel to immobilize it. I lowered thehydraulic jack and removed it.

The bronze keel pin was quitechewed up but would probably havelasted a few more years. There was a5/8" wide by 1/4" deep void where thekeel had been wearing on the pin. Thetop of the pin was also worn down about1/4". The previous owner hadapparently rotated the pin rather thanreplacing it.

What really bothered me was the factthat there was an elongated hole throughthe keel itself. I had to smooth out thishole, or the new pin would have wornthrough faster than the original. Idecided to enlarge the hole and place abronze bushing in it. It took some time,several 1 1/4" circular grinding bits inmy electric drill, and a circular metal file,but I finally enlarged the hole to a 1 1/4"circle. I forced a bronze bushing (1" IDx 1 1/4" OD x 1 3/8" long) into theopening. The new keel pin then fitperfectly.

There was at least 1/4" of space oneither side of the keel, so I cut tworubber washers 5" in diameter from anold tire sidewall, drilled holes in thewashers, and fit them into both sides ofthe keel pin assembly to act as spacersand shock absorbers. The result? Nomore "klunk-klunk".

Lastly, I put the hydraulic trolley jackback under the keel and slowly raised itback into place, replaced the stainlesssteel bolts and washers, and the job wasdone. The last time I pulled the boat outof the water, the pin was perfect.

Real Keel Fix - SpacersBy Dennis SlatonMainsheet, November 1987, pg. 55.

Everyone who owns a C-22 morethan a few years old has heard the"clunking" of the keel in rough water orwhile tacking. I was no exception. Irepaired the keel the way a 1986 articlein Mainsheet suggested. Uponcompletion, I sailed the boat and wasunhappy with the job, as the keel stillmade some noise and didn't sail the sameon both tacks. So I set out a fix of myown...

With the boat on the trailer, I used ajack to support the front of the keel whileI loosened the hanger and dropped thekeel down a few inches. I measured thedifference between the keel and the keeltrunk at the hanger pin, and from thesemeasurements I made nylon spacers foreach side of the pin.

Next I removed the lock-down pinand took a measurement through thehold. Then, back under the boat, Imeasured the thickness of the keel at thelock-down spot on the keel. Taking thedifference in the two measurements anddividing by two produced a thickness fortwo spacers (2 inch x 10 inch x desiredthickness).

I used Teflon, but almost any suitablematerial will work. Then I pop rivetedthe spacers, one on each side, just abovethe lock-down spot on the keel. I alsocountersunk the rivets so as not to scarthe keel trunk.

Now the boat sails the same on bothtacks and does not " clunk. " It works sowell that I never used the lock-downbolt, and the keel has no play at all in thedown position.

One inch keel pin alongside bronze bushing(1” ID x 1 ¼” OD x 1 3/8” long) used to

restore the shape of the keel pin hole.

Keel


Keel Pins and HangersBy Pam and Dennis SlatonFleet 58 Newsletter, September 1998“Our Old Boat #7 Keels, Parts is Parts”

In the "Our Old Boat #6" wediscussed the fairing and refinishing ofthe keel surface and this is a very timeconsuming and ever ongoing issue,however without information on how toremove the keel (applies to swing keelonly) from the boat one tends to have ahuge problem. The swing keel is held inplace with a keel pin that is fittedthrough the keel and into a keel hanger,which is in turn held in place by fourbolts threaded into the keel trunk. Thebolts should be routinely checked forcorrosion and proper tension. Note thebolts should never be over tightened!Should the head of the bolt ever betwisted off, life as you know it will neverbe the same. No seriously, the bolt wouldhave to be drilled to remove and then thethreads chased or re-tapped, but that'sanother subject altogether.

The first step in removing the keel,whether to do refinishing work or simplyinspect the hanger pin, is to prepare aplan of action to enable you to handle a500 pound object safely. We willdescribe the process we go through andyou can formulate your own from there.

The process of removing the keel ordoing an inspection normally takes placewhile the boat is off the trailer andsuspended between the two infamouspine trees, (a sling under the front of theboat attached to a come along on eachtree, and stands under the transom),however it can be done with the boat onthe trailer, but will take more ingenuity.Place a floor jack under the leading edgeof the keel approximately six inches aftof the hangers, and raise the jack tocontact the edge and take all the pressure

off the hanger assembly. Now with thejack in place, you can loosen each of thefour bolts and gently lower the keel toexpose the keel pin. What you hope tofind is a smooth unworn pin, but whatyou do not want to see is a pin that isdangerously thin from wear, (see photo#1) . It's easier to replace the pin thanlose the keel!

A large part of the wear on the pin isgenerated from the slack fit of the keel inthe keel trunk, allowing lateralmovement of the keel while under sail orin the slip. Prior to lowering the keel youshould inspect for proper spacing and beprepared to add spacer kit if needed. Thewear on the pin is not the only problemgenerated from this movement, it alsowears at the through hole in the keel. Ifthis area is showing signs of wear, beprepared for an extended repair project(we will talk more in depth on thissubject in the next article).

After all repairs and inspections arecomplete, you are ready to raise the keelback into position and refit the pin intothe hanger assembly and tighten thebolts. Do you remember which way thehanger came out. Obviously the sailorwhose keel hanger is pictured in photo#2 was confused - this is NOT correct.

The hanger should fit flush with theboat's bottom (see photo #3). Photo #2 is

a picture of a boat found in dry storageand was not staged for this article!

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

Figure 1. Keel pin wear.

Figure 2. Keel hanger mounted upsidedown.

Figure 3. Keel hanger mounted flush.

Keel


Keel & LeakageProblems

Enclosed is a discussion of myopinion on the cause of Dunlin's keel andleakage problems as described in theSummer MainBrace edition. I've had asimilar problem with my boat (Irish Mist5679) with the keel pin washer spacersintact and in place. It is difficult toattribute this damage to the absence ofthe washers.

I would take exception to Mr.Padwa's diagnosis of his keel wobbleproblem as mentioned in the summer1981 edition of MainBrace. Heindicated the absence of the 2 keel pinspacer washers was the cause of theenlarged keel pin hole permittingexcessive keel wobble. In my opinionthe oversized keel hole, was due togalvanic corrosion between the 1 inchdiameter bronze pin and the cast ironkeel. The contact of two dissimilarmetals with different inherent potentialsimmersed in water (salt water aggravatesthe process) will produce an electriccurrent (a battery) causing a loss ofmaterial in the metal with the higherpotential. For our case this is the castiron keel causing the enlargement of thekeel pin hole.

The installation of sacrificial zincsattached to the keel as close to the pin aspossible is the recommended fix tominimize this metal corrosionphenomenon. This fix is specified in theowners manual for boats that are kept inthe water for extended periods of time.

It is very unlikely that the leakageproblem around the keel down lock boltin the side of the keel cavity resultedfrom the above mentioned keel corrosionproblem. This damage probablyoccurred as a result of trying to "winch"the keel up or down with the keel lockbolt torqued down or going aground withthe keel lock engaged. It is noted thatthe down lock hole in the keel cavity islocated above the water line henceleakage occurs only when the boat is in aheeled attitude.

Keel Lock Down BoltBy Dale MackOctober 14, 2000

Where To Find It. On my 1987C22, the swing-keel lock down bolt islocated in the compartment beneath theforward dinette seat. If you stick yourhead into the compartment and look atthe keel trunk, you should be able to seethe lock down bolt. The 1977 and 1987owner manuals include a discussionabout the lock down bolt.

My practice is to use the boltwhenever the keel is down. I slowlyscrew the bolt in until it presses firmlyagainst the keel. A visual inspection onmy boat shows that the end of the boltphysically makes contact with the keel.I've mistakenly retracted the keel acouple of times when the bolt wasengaged, and the keel has a scare wherethe paint was removed.

To Lock or Not to Lock. Fromfollowing the C22 email discussiongroup, I've learned that there is noconsensus on the use of this simpledevice. One camp recommends that thebolt should never be used because of itspotential to crack the keel trunk in theevent of a grounding, while the othercamp argues that the boat's self-righting

ability after a knockdown depends on thebolt preventing the keel from retracting.With each camp citing actual instancesthat help reinforce their point of view, it'sdifficult for a boat owner to know whatto do. My boat came from themanufacture with a sign mounted next tothe keel-winch that reads "Keel Must BeLocked In Down Position WhenSailing." While I've chosen to use thelock down bolt, it's clear from the lack ofconsensus on this topic, that each boatowner needs to seek a variety ofopinions, including those in the 1977 and1987 owner manuals, and weigh the risksthemselves.

Stopping the Leak. Until I startedcoating the threads of the bolt with awaterproof marine grease, I used toexperience a slight leak through thethreads of the bolt. Since using thegrease, the compartment has remaineddry. As a part of my regularmaintenance, I completely remove thebolt, clean off the old grease, and reapplynew grease.

How's It Shaped. The lock downbolt on my 1987 C22 is a 3 inch boltwith a handle. The handle can slide backand forth through the end of the bolt,which aids using the bolt in the tightconfines of a 1987 model where the seatof the dinette meets the back.

Keel


Refinishing

Maintaining Your KeelBy Steve KostanichMain Brace, Summer 1982, pg. 22.

As you are probably well aware, theCatalina 22 keel is an iron casting. Ironrusts, and if your keel is typical, reddishbrown patches are starting to show on it.As the keel comes from the factory it hasa thin polyester coating on it, somethinglike auto body patching putty. Whenmoisture gets behind it, blisters will formand allow rust to start. Of course anyplace you've nicked or bumped the keel,rust will also form. Here are somesuggestions on how to remedy theproblem and prolong its reoccurrence.

I assume you will undertake thisproject with the boat on the trailer, somake the job easier by elevating the boaton the bunks with 4"x4"x15" styrofoamblocks. Securely tape them to the veryrear of each bunk. I only elevate thestern end of the boat, which allows mostof the keel to be dropped out of its slotonto its rest on the trailer. The elevatingis also harmless to the hull. If you liveclose to the water, the boat can belaunched, the styrofoam blocks taped tothe bunks, and the boat recovered. ThenCAREFULLY tow the boat home tobegin work. The boat also can be jackedup to place the blocks. Or you can skip

elevating the boat at all and simply notrefinish the part of the keel enclosed inthe slot. Be sure to give the keel cablelots of slack so not to lift the weight ofthe keel.

Start with the blisters by chippingthem open and back until all loosecoating is completely knocked free. Ireally don't recommend removing all ofthe coating unless you remove the keel.Next take a disc grinder or sander to thespots and remove as much of the rust aspossible. It can also be done by handwith a wire brush and aluminum oxideabrasive cloth, but it is much more work.The ultimate of course is to sand blastthe spots. Places where rust is bleedingthrough the finish but no blisters arepresent need only a good grind job downto bare shiny metal.

Next mix up enough epoxy patchingputty. I prefer Marine-Tex, to trowel agood coating into each blistered spot.The idea is to fair the depression leftfrom the blister into the surroundingfinish. When the epoxy is fullyhardened, it can be sanded and fairedsmooth. The iron edge of the keel willnot have a very thick coat of the factoryfinish on it, so the cleaned up placesthere need only a good coating of anti-rust primer like Derusto or Rust-oleum.Two coats of it wouldn't hurt.

With the preliminary surfacepreparation ready, the next step is toapply the final finish. The factoryrecommends finishing the keel with

epoxy paint. It is probably the bestchoice, but it is quite expensive. I havehad good success with Rust-oleum, but Idon't keep my boat in the water, so I'mnot sure how good it is during continuousimmersion. I'd recommend four coats,letting each coat dry thoroughly beforeapplying the next. The Rust-oleum wetsands super when it gets good and hard,if you want a good finish on it for racing.If you are putting on anti-fouling paintyou don't need an epoxy or Rust-oleumfinish. You need to be sure though thatthere is no bare metal on the keel whichmight be coated with anti-fouling paint,as the metallic toxicants will cause agalvanic reaction when immersed in saltwater, and greatly increase the corrosionof the keel. The best move would be tosee what primer the manufacturer of yourbrand of paint recommends as apreliminary surface preparation formetal. When you feel you've got all therefinishing done to your satisfaction, thenext step is lower the boat back down onthe bunk, reversing the procedure youused to raise it.

I hope I haven't led you to believethat all the work you've done ispermanent, 'cause it ain't! But acraftsman like job will certainly prolongdoing it again and hopefully make iteasier when the time comes. Good luckon the project, and good sailing when itis done.

Removing andRefinishing the KeelBy Randy TillyMainsheet, August 1991, pg. 84-85.

One of the greatest benefits of theCatalina 22 National Sailing Associationis the wealth of experience members canbring to bear on a problem. This pastwinter, as I tried to find the source of aleak on my boat (a 1982 model, hull#11058), it seemed the whole Catalinafamily was on board.

The engineers at Catalina Yachtsreminded me to check the obvioussources of water, like the area around therudder gudgeons and the through-hullfittings for the cockpit drains and theswing keel cable. By drying the bilge as

thoroughly as I could while the boat wasstill in the water, I found that the leakwas somewhere under the cabin liner,forward of the rear dinette seat.

I then called the C-22 TechnicalAdvisor, Dick King, who patientlyhelped me to understand what thetechnical manual shows pretty clearly –that the swing keel trunk has no openingsto the inside of the boat, and that thebolts holding the bearings and keel intothe hull go only into the hull, not throughit. Clearly the trunk was holed orcracked, perhaps at the base of the trunkwhere occasional groundings hadstressed the fiberglass. In any case, thekeel would have to be removed.

I'm sure some of the techniquesdescribed in the C-22 technical manualfor raising the boat off the trailer would

suffice for gaining access to the keel, butI cheated. A friend who sells and rentsheavy equipment provided a boom truck,a sort of crane on a truck bed, and withnylon lifting straps positioned slightlybefore and after the keel, we raised theboat off the keel. Moving the keelaround is a three-person job, and wefound it almost impossible to lift the keelcompletely off the ground.

My friend Jeff began sandblasting therusty, barnacle-encrusted keel, and Isearched unsuccessfully for a crack orhole. Filling the hull with three or fourinches of water and tilting the boatforward a bit on its lifting strapsproduced a steady stream of water fromthe forward edge of the swing keel trunk.I had never gotten bottom paint on theportion of the keel hidden in the trunk,

Keel


and some barnacles ¼" to 3/8" in heightwere scattered on the keel. I wassurprised that there was so littleclearance between the keel and thetunnel, but an area of thick fiberglassabout ½”x2" had been chafed throughabout 10" from the bottom of the keelentrance on the forward edge of thetrunk.

An air-powered die grinder andsandpaper made short work of bevelingthe hole into a repairable gap. I usedfive or six layers of fiberglass cloth,topped by micro-balloon filler and a lastcoat of resin, before applying bottompaint to the trunk.

We used the same filler (WestSystem Microlight) as the fairingcompound to fill the voids in the keel.Some of them were ¼" deep, and it tookseveral applications of filler, followed bya lot of sanding with an air-poweredpalm sander to fair the keel completely,but a final coat of resin rewarded us witha first-class looking keel.

Unfortunately, our finish was short-lived, because when we replaced the keelin the boat, the keel would only pivotthrough about half of its travel. We wereconfident that we had not built the keel

up wider than it had been before, becausesandblasting had removed a significantamount of rusted metal. However, wehad shimmed the left bearing about 1/16of an inch to make the keel hang straightdown.

Before, the keel had listed about tendegrees to port. The top of the keel hadalways rubbed on the left side of the keeltrunk, evidenced by rub marks on the leftside of the tunnel, and the shimsexacerbated the problem. On furtherexamination, we found the keel to havemultiple curves, which must have beenthere since it was cast.

Averaging out the curves by grindingthe upper portion of the keel with sidegrinders and recovering with resin gaveus a keel which hung straight down anddidn't touch the keel trunk anywhere.We also slotted the bearing bolt holesfore and aft to slightly pivot the keeluntil it was aligned with the centerline ofthe boat with the keel retracted. Before,it hung over the left edge of thecenterline recess that runs to the rearedge of the keel.

We got pretty good at removing andreplacing the keel. Jeff cut off some 4"long bolts at the heads, to use as locatordowels for the bearings while welowered the boat onto the keel, and thisreally simplified the process.

The keel looked great on the boat,and with the keel again lowering to itsfully extended position, the boat sails alot better, too. I can't tell whether curingthe list of the keel has changed my abilityto point on either tack, but I know I feelmore confident with the keel hangingstraight down, smooth and protected.

Tips on Removing Your KeelRemoving your keel is a major

project, and I don't mean to minimize thedifficulties. However, I couldn't find anyboatyards interested in doing it for me,so I offer these ideas to those of you whomight be in the same position:

Having the boat high enough to lowerthe keel fully was a luxury which isprobably not available to most, but itsure was nice. I envision raising the boatoff the trailer with floor jacks positionedfore and aft until it clears the top of thekeel. This takes about a foot. Use thestand made of two-by-fours in the pictureto stabilize the keel – if it tips overbefore the boat is clear, you may crack

the fiberglass at the base of the tunnel.Support the trailer to keep it from tiltingand slide the keel to the rear off thetrailer along a stout plank.

Do as I say, not as I did! Check thekeel for overall straightness, fullextension, and any chafing in the keeltrunk, as well as for leaks or cracksbefore refinishing.

Go to the trouble of sandblasting thekeel, even if you must have someone elsedo it. Fairing the keel with filler andresin is well worth the effort in terms ofappearance, protection, and, according toexperienced racers, performance. I usedWest System Epoxy with theirMicrolight fairing compound because Ididn't have much experience withfiberglass, and their technical and boatconstruction manuals give completeinstructions for using their ownmaterials. I understand there are cheaperepoxies, but I still recommend themanuals for those of you without muchexperience handling fiberglass.

Use the pictured bolts to help alignthe bearings as you replace the keel, anduse the two-by-four supports while youwork on the keel. We wound up usingjust one support, which seemed stable

enough, but the keel is top-heavy, and ifit falls over, you can (as we did) maryour finish and have to redo some work.You may also get hurt – be sure toadequately support the boat and thekeel during all phases of the project.

The keel before refinishing.

Cut the heads off 4” bolts to locate bearings asboat is lowered onto keel.

Finished keel with its 2x4 supports.

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First PersonExperiences inRefinishing Swing KeelsThe following accounts were taken fromthe newsletter of Fleet 120 in Grove,Oklahoma:

Jerry Hickman recounts hisexperience:

Probably the number one reason Ididn't have major problems removing mykeel is the fact that my trailer is made fora fixed keel, with very high bunks. Ionly had to support the keel while Iremoved the hanger bolts and hangers. Iused a small hydraulic floor jack whichjust fits on the runner where the keelrests. I supported it from turning orfalling off the jack by running linesaround the keel and tying them off on thesupports for the bunks. After the hangerbolts were removed, I lowered the jackand used a come-along to pull the keelinto my truck bed. It took about an hourto get it out and into the truck, but someof that time was spent making trips to thecooler.

I had the keel sandblasted at amonument company in Bentonville for$20. My keel had a coating of whatlooked like Bondo on one side, used tofair it out somewhat. My guess is that itwas done at the foundry, because thekeel has never been worked on since theboat was purchased.

For fairing material, I used fiberglasscloth and polyester resin. The fiberglassis not truly waterproof, but I covered thekeel after that with Interprotect. This is atwo-part paint which is supposed to bewaterproof. I also used it to cover thebottom of the boat after I repaired theblisters. I followed the directions whichcall for five coats, which will give abouta 10 mil thickness. I really think thatalmost any product would work if it wereapplied to a sandblasted and clean keel.No matter which product is used, if watergets to the keel and rust forms, blisterswill eventually form.

All the work was done on the keelwhile it was supported on two sawhorses.I used an old swing set as an "A" frameand the come-along to turn it over. Ireally can't imagine working on it whileit is still under the boat. It is just tooheavy and clumsy.

Putting the keel back on was areverse process which took a lot longerthan removing it. I hooked up the cableto the back of the keel and tied the linesto the bunk supports to keep the keelfrom rolling off the jack. As I raised thekeel slowly, I put blocks under it so thatif it did fall, it would not go down to thetrailer.

The fore and aft adjustment of thehanger bolts is a lot harder than youwould think. Once the keel is up in thetrunk far enough, it really can't fall over;the cable is supporting a good portion ofthe weight. Do remember to put the keelhangers up into the keel – don't leavethem upside down like I did. The hullshould be smooth, not having 2-inch by2-inch lumps of brass hanging from thebottom.

Earl Rose's Experience:My keel was in fairly good shape. It

was fairly smooth but did have somerough spots and some voids and hadbegun to rust in spots, so we decided toremove the old coatings and smooth itout and recoat it. Greg Barton at JoeBecker's Marine Service of Oklahoma inTulsa was very helpful. Greg suggestedWest Epoxy with a filler to fill in the lowspots, then at least four coats of theepoxy to achieve a maximum moisturebarrier. Greg did not recommend gelcoat or fiberglass, because neither are asimpervious to moisture as epoxy.

Marilyn and I tried for four or fivehours to remove the keel but gave up.Our trailer carries the boat so low thatthere are no more than 2 inches clearancebetween the keel in its fully raisedposition and until it is resting on thetrailer support just above the axle. Wecould not jack the boat up high enoughabove the trailer bunks so that the keelwas entirely below the keel trunk. Wehad five or six 2xl2s between the bunksand the hull and still had about 3 inchesmore to go, and the boat was tooprecariously high to go any further. Ialso found that a very slight slope (2 or 3degrees on my inclinometer) on thedriveway athwartship is magnified whenthe boat is this high above the bunks andadds to the instability. I wouldrecommend a trailer made for a boat witha fixed keel, so the boat is much higherand the keel can be dropped withoutjacking up the boat.

We wound up taking the boat toGreg, who put it on a hoist to drop thekeel. Greg also sandblasted the keel for$25, after I had tried a belt sander, afinish sander, and 3-inch wire cup brushin an electric drill to remove the fivecoats of paint. I couldn't believe howhard all five coats were – there werewhite, blue, and gold coats, and whatappeared to be a red primer and a blackcoat. Sandblasting was a necessity.

I used West System 105 resin and205 hardener. West has five or sixdifferent products, all with differentcharacteristics. The first coat of epoxywas mixed with West 206 thickener, orfiller, to fill in the voids and low spots inthe keel. The thickener is also availablein several varieties-harder or softer-andyou can select the one to fit your need.My keel had been filled previously butstill had some voids and low spots. Theold filler appeared sound, and Greg left iton, so I started with some bare metal andsome filled areas. I didn't apply the firstcoat of epoxy for several days followingsandblasting and had to remove the lightcoat of rust which had formed. I had abelt sander, but a Black & Deckerfinishing sander with coarse paperproved to be the best. I also used a 3-inch cup wire brush in an electric drill toget the rust out of the voids. I was toldthat rust starts to form in only 8 minutesafter sandblasting.

The first filler coat was not quitethick enough, and sanding went throughto the metal in a few spots, so I put asecond filler coat on some spots asneeded.

After the filler coat hardened, Isanded it down again and applied sixcoats of epoxy for a moisture barrier.Each coat was applied with a foam rollerwhen the previous coat was still tacky.The epoxy is transparent, and a coat ofbottom paint could have been applied forappearance only, but I decided against it.

I brought the keel back from Tulsa toBartlesville in the back of a pick-up andfound that 55 gallon drums laid downwere almost its high as the bed of thetruck. With a borrowed come-along Islid the keel off the truck onto a coupleof drums and put the filler coats on withthe keel on the drums. For the six coatsof plain epoxy, I put a 2x12 board acrossthe two floor joists in the ceiling of thegarage with 3/8 x 4-inch wood bolts anda 3/8-inch eye bolt in the center of the

Keel


2x12. I used large fender washers on allbolts and raised the keel from this withthe come-along. This permitted me toroll the epoxy on the entire keel withouthaving to turn it. Marilyn was concernedthat the weight would pull down the floorjoists, so I braced a 2x8-inch between the2x12 on the ceiling and the floor of thegarage, and everything worked great,with no apparent sagging of the floorjoists.

Time will tell how effective thistreatment is for preventing rust. I did tryto sand the final coat with wet 220 cloth,but it could have been sanded smootherstill.

Refinishing with EpoxyBy Pam and Dennis SlatonFleet 58 Newsletter, August 1998“Our Old Boat #6 Keels”

Since, we last discussed rudders, it isappropriate to move into keels, and theirmaintenance problems. No matter thetype of the keel, the cast ironcomposition and resulting rust is themost time consuming factor in themaintenance equation. We haverefinished a number of keels, and theapproach to refinishing is determined bythe current condition of the surface.Many times if the keel has a good basicoverall shape and the rust deposits arenot deep or numerous, we would not opt

to expose the entire keel, but simplygrind out the problem area and do apatch. But if a complete restoration isrequired, the best approach issandblasting the surface to reveal all baremetal. Note that rust begins immediately,thus the need to apply a rust inhibitingpaint prior to leaving the blasting booth,if not sooner!! A good inhibitor paint isPetit Rust-lock. Whatever paint you areusing check for compatibility with theepoxy and filler that you will be applyingnext.

We have always suspended a swingkeel from the cable eye and the keel pinhole. This makes for easier handling,(with a fixed keel you must endureworking under the boat). The next step isto key or rough sand the inhibitor paintand clean the surface with acetone for aproperly prepared surface to accept theepoxy. Seal the entire keel with a coat ofpure epoxy rolled and then tipped with abrush to remove any bubbles. Make surethe epoxy penetrates all the holes in themetal. Once the first coat of epoxy is atthe green cure stage, (note theappropriate time windows for recoatingor you may have to sand prior topreceding) you can begin the fairingprocess.

We skim the entire keel with a thickcoat of epoxy filler (we use the WestSystems epoxy, 410 microlight and asmall amount of silica to prevent themixture from running). The consistencyshould be that of peanut butter. Uponcuring we begin the tedious process ofsanding and shaping using 80 gritsandpaper. This skim and sand processwill have to be repeated until theimperfections are corrected and theshape is restored. In restoring the shape,remember that you are looking forsymmetry with the draft about 40% to45% aft of the leading edge, butremember that thinner keels equal lessdrag and better performance. Also asquared trailing edge is more desirableand the performance is enhanced over aknife blade edge. Our class rules allowsfor the refinishing of our keels, and giventhe crude imperfections found there is noproblem in correcting the shape toachieve a symmetric form, however, youcan not drastically change the shape orcord dimension measurements of thekeel.

After the process of restoring the keelshape you are ready to address the usual

barrier and anit-fouling paint issues. Ahigh level of barrier paint protectionhelps to prevent future moisturepenetration and the resulting rust. Wehave heard of the fiberglass wrapapproach to refinishing the keel, but havenever attempted it. Next month we willdiscuss the maintenance of the keelhangers, pin, etc.

First coat of epoxy applied. Photo courtesyFleet 20, Portland, OR.

Alternative method of suspending the keelby the keel pivot hole. Photo courtesy Fleet

20, Portland, OR.

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Keel Laminate CrackingYour Catalina 22 swing keel was not

glassed by the factory, because theyhaven't done such a thing. They ship theboat with only paint on the keel, so it hasbeen done by someone else.

There are many ways of repair,depending upon the amount of damage.Any of these repairs will requiredropping the keel out of the boat and theeasiest way to do that is raising the boaton the trailer by jacking under thecenterline at the transom about a foot,placing blocks of wood (about 12 inchcubes) on the trailer bunks by jackingunder the center line at about the forwardedge of the keel trunk. Once the boat isblocked up it is safe to work under it.The other way is to use a sling and hoistthe boat off the trailer, but a hoist is notalways available.

If the damage is slight, remove ALLof the fiberglass from the area where ithas separated from the cast iron, cleanthe cast iron to bare metal, and prime andpatch the fiberglass. Be sure to sand thepatch so that it is fair.

If the damage is extensive the keelcan be re-fiberglassed in its entirely.Again, be sure to clean and prepare thecast iron very well. If ANY moisturegets between the glass and the cast iron,it WILL rust and the rust WILL forcemore delamination.

Other methods of treatment that I'veseen are to coat the cast iron with"GLUVIT", to paint it and then fair itwith a filler, or, if you've got a very goodcasting, to just paint it with a heavy paintI've never seen it done, but I imagine thata polyurethane paint would be very goodsince it provides a surface similar to afiberglass gel-coat

If you don't race the boat, there areprotective coatings that can be used andperform their jobs pretty well. In thepaints, RUST-0-LEUM does a prettygood job. Again, it does require the keelbe prepared, but it is not so critical aswith fiberglassing the keel. There areother waterproofing compounds,including roofing tar, that will adequatelyprotect the keel from corrosion, but it isvery difficult to got a good surface withthem.

As for me, I have had a compoundcalled "tar set" applied. It works goodand is very tenacious, but the surface isNOT very good for racing. I do race, but

the usual conditions are such that thesurface is not very critical (winds 18 to35). Whenever the winds are lighter,under 15, I do very poorly and I chooseto blame it partially on the surface of mykeel.

02 Keel

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