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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Keel Cable Replacement completed

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/26/2003 : 08:56:55

I finished installing the new winch, cable, turning ball, and thru-hull hose last Sunday. I was able to do everything except replace the cable with the boat on the trailer. After trying two or three different methods on Saturday to lift the boat on the trailer, was not able to get it high enough to expose the keel tang and cable pin.
So I had to go home and come back Sunday with scuba gear and do it with the boat in the water. Took 30 minutes and 1/4 of an 80 cu. ft. tank of air to get the job done, as I was being VERY careful to not drop anything, especially the 3/8" link pin! If that had fallen, I would have never found it in the mud. The only problem turned out to be getting the new cable poked up through the hose. It kept hitting the winch or the ladder and didn't want to go through, and there was no one on board to pull on it and help guide it. Next time, I will try to get someone to help and be on board while I push the cable up from underwater. I am thinking that the old cable was <i>the factory original </i>, 24 years old. It was an aircraft-style swage fork with the cable hole going all the way through (you can see the ends of the cable poking out of the bottom at the fork end). If true, this proves to me that the previous owner didn't use the boat much, or do any maintenance to speak of, as she was 17 years old when I bought her and should have had at least one cable replacement in that time. The really disturbing news is that the body of the swage fork was starting to crack from stress and probably crevice corrosion, and might have been getting ready to fail in the near future.

Here's a close up photo of the cracked swage fork:

<img src="http://images2.fotki.com/v10/free/d729d/5/58748/376194/crack-or.jpg" border=0>

Here is the new cable. I have wound a buch of red sewing thread impregnated with epoxy around the end of the swage fork to keep water and salt out:
<img src="http://images2.fotki.com/v10/free/d729d/5/58748/376194/newcable-or.jpg" border=0>

The old turning ball had evidently begun to stick, and the cable was in process of sawing it in half:
<img src="http://images2.fotki.com/v11/free/d729d/5/58748/376194/ball-or.jpg" border=0>

The new winch and cable installation completed:
<img src="http://images2.fotki.com/v11/free/d729d/5/58748/376194/winch2-or.jpg" border=0>

I put a 1" PVC pipe cap with a 1/4" hole drilled in the end hose-clamped to the end of the big hose to keep water from shooting up:
<img src="http://images3.fotki.com/v33/free/d729d/5/58748/376194/pipecap-or.jpg" border=0>

The new winch is a little different from the original Factory-installed one, and the handle coupler sticks out a lot further:

<img src="http://images3.fotki.com/v35/free/d729d/5/58748/376194/adapter-or.jpg" border=0>

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25 #1205 "Quiet Time"
Sacramento, CA

Edited by - on

dave holtgrave
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
427 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2003 : 09:58:55

thanks for theinfo
ican not open the photos
can you help?
thanks
dave holtgrave
5722
sk/tr
sailing carlyle lake in southern illinois

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svmoxie
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
331 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2003 : 11:13:59

Wow Larry, I can't imagine trying to run that cable in the boat without a helper...Much less doing it while underwater!<img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>

Kudos on a job well done, that new winch looks great. I suspect that I will replace mine this fall.

Regarding the pictures, I admit that I am stumped. Dave, if you "right click" on the picture box and scroll down to "Properties" it opens a box that includes the url of the image. Usually you can tell that the format is wrong, most often people link to either their own computer or they have two "http://" in a row. However Larry's looks ok to me. In fact if I highlight the url, copy and paste it in the address bar, it opens for me. So I just don't know why they don't open in the message. It is worth the effort though, he got some nice photos.

Clif Thompson
Treasurer C-25/250 National Association.
svMoxie '81 25 sk

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2003 : 08:49:10

I can't figure out why the photos won't open. Perhaps they are too large? Is there a size limit I don't know about for photos on this forum?
Anyway, the photos I would most like everyone to see are the two showing the crack in the swage fork and the worn turning ball. When I saw the swage fork, after getting it back on the boat, I felt sick; that crack is more than an inch long, about 1/3 the length of the swage, and I feel pretty sure that the swage is no longer gripping the cable in that zone, so only 2/3 of the swage is still effective, if even that much. How long until it failed completely and I had a catastrophic free-fall of the keel? Another thing I found was that the clutch disks on the old winch were worn paper thin. What happens when they wear out completely? Can the winch drum spin free and drop the keel in a free-fall? I guess the lesson here is that the swing-keel system - cable, winch, and turning ball - needs regular annual inspection to check for developing problems.

Larry Charlot
Catalina 25 #1205 "Quiet Time"
Sacramento, CA

Edited by - on

Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2003 : 09:05:19

The photos did not open for me either... using Mozilla browser.... however, I could right click on the photo location and choose [view image] and bingo, after which the photo stayed visible.... weird.

Arlyn C-250 W/B #224
<img src="http://www.stewartfam.net/arlyn/rr.jpg" border=0>
N/E Texas and Great Lakes

[url="http://www.cox-internet.com/arlynstewart/"]Arlyn's C250 Mods n Cruisin Stories[/url]

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3072 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2003 : 09:55:58

Larry, have you replaced the stainless cable attachment fitting on the keel yet ? The hole in mine was pretty well egged out after 25 years.

Currently maintaining two holes in the water...'77 Venture 23 and new to the family,
'78 Catalina 25

Edited by - on

dave holtgrave
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
427 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2003 : 11:08:29

i found out to see photos
print out the message and they will appear

dave holtgrave
5722sk/tr
sailingcarlylelake
in southern illinois

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