Keel Lock Down Bolt

[ChockFullOnuts22]

It appears to contact it at the very top of the keel. The bumper looked well used when I was able to see it. As far as I can tell, and have been told in the past, that is where the weight of the keel rests, rather than at the bottom of the forward edge of the keel trunk. It makes sense, if you think about it....if the weight of the keel rested against the bottom of the forward end of the keel trunk, you'd see wear in it over time.

Plus think of the shape of the forward end of your keel trunk: it's straight up and down, from top to bottom. If the keel rested against the trunk, wouldn't the trunk have to be raked toward the stern at the bottom in order for the keel to rest at the proper aft-raked angle?

[heinzir]

I understand that, but it raises other questions. Is the rubber block there to support the keel with the lock bolt out or with the lock bolt in (through the keel) or with the keel resting on the lock bolt? Is its purpose to keep the keel in its proper position or is it just to cushion the impact caused by a broken cable or a keel swinging back in big seas? Like I said, my keel has plenty of clearance at the top and never hits the trunk with the rubber block removed. Its weight is completely supported by the pivot bolt and the keel cable.

Henry

[Pete]

Now I know I could be wrong on any one of these, but I may have some answers, as I have had my keel out and fully inspected the trunk on my boat. I have also lifted the boat with a fork lift and lowered the keel.

The keel hangs straight down from the pivot bolt. It is not raked aft.
The rubber bumper is located above the pivot bolt and contacts the trailing edge if the keel when in the full down position.
There are 3 bolts through the keel trunk, the top bolt is said to attached the bumper, however at least on my boat this does not seam to be the case. The top bolt attaches a support for the bulkhead. The bumper is glued on.

This has really been a great thread. so much to learn about such a simple device.

Pete

[ChockFullOnuts22]

I just did a little bit of internet research, looking at pictures and whatnot, and found out that the keels on the V222 and V23 are not the same design. The keel in Henry's boat appears to be the same one that was used in the V24. I don't know if this design difference also affects the way that the keels rests in the down position...that would probably be a question for the guys at MacGregor. But from what I can tell, even the keel trunks are different. The V222's trunk appears to extend taller inside the boat. Here are websites that show the two keels:

V222 keel (shows pivot bolt hole and lockdown bolt hole, pivot hole being drilled out): http://www.sailingsmall.com/PDF%20samples/keel.pdf

V23 keel (shows pivot bolt hole and lockdown bolt hole-but not as clearly): http://www.clery.net/venture23/index.htm

You've got me wanting to get my boat up on a cradle and really take a look at this.

Henry, does your keel cable go slack when your keel is all the way down? Mine does; my cable plays no part in supporting the weight of the keel while it is in the down position. But I don't know if all models are the same way, because I read one of the owner's manuals PDF'd on this website for the V21,22, & 25; and in the manual, the instructions said to install the lockdown bolt through the keel and then crank the winch down to relieve tension from the cable. Pete, since you also have a 222, does your winch/cable behave the same why I describe mine acting?

That rubber stop/bumper is getting me perplexed, now, too--haha.

EDIT: Pete, your keel hangs straight down???? Do you have any pictures of that? Mine has the aft rake like you see in the old Venture brochures....(bottom view in below pic)

(This one is for a MacGregor 22, but it's still the same thing)

[flynfol]

The keel on my V25 would contact the top/aft of the trunk before it could ever contact the lower forward portion of the trunk. Thus, even without the lockbolt, the keel would be raked aft. I'll atke some pics today. The top bolt (in tension)attaches the bulkhead (in shear)to the top of the keel trunk via a stainless bracket about a foot long or so. Don't see a rubber bumper up there anywhere!?

John

[Pete]

No pictures of the keel down. Wish I did. My lift cable is about 20' long. I just crank it down until it goes slack. When I replaced it I wanted to have plenty of wraps around the drum and not rely on that stupid bolt connection thing at the winch.

Pete

[ChockFullOnuts22]

20ft? The one I bought from BWY.com (MacGregor) is 11 feet long, and came with the swaged end. You'll certainly never have to worry about the cable pulling off the drum!

I think I have three full wraps on the winch drum when the keel is all the way down. I know what you mean, though.....that little bolt and flimsy clamp don't inspire much confidence.

[heinzir]

Here is a picture of my keel trunk. The top forward bolt is for the bulkhead support; the one near the center is the lock down bolt; and the small one just visible in the top aft corner is for the rubber block. The top of the trunk (just the liner, I think) was starting to deform from the pressure the mast exerts on the compression post so I added an oak cap. Then I decided I might as well use that to hold something. Hence my mini "bar."



My keel trunk configuration is basically the same as the V25 shown here:



I think my keel hangs pretty much straight down when the cable is slack, since without the lock down bolt and without the rubber bumper there is nothing to hold it in a swept back position. But I haven't swum under the boat lately to verify. I do usually sail with some tension on the cable. The hum is annoying but with the infestation of Eurasion Milfoil weeds on our lake the hum assures me that I don't have any wrapped around the cable.

[flynfol]

My V25 keel actually sits in the trunk parallel with the bottom of the boat. Similiar to that diagram, but the trunk extends further aft so the keel fits up higher. I don't have the rubber bumper or bolt in the diagram. My lock down bolt is directly above, if not aft of the pivot bolt. The area where the bumper would be was destroyed by POs(not sure which) the repair actually included the liner directly behind the bumper. I took some pics, but am not sure how to post on this forum.

John

[Pete]

I believe that diagram is of the older Ventures that had the keel partially exposed when retracted. I believe these were the pre-hull liner models but I am no mac expert.

[Hamin' X]

Pictures must be placed on a public server such as PhotoBucket. The instructions that follow are for photobucket, but other image hosting sites will be similar and this is not an endorsment of photobucket.

Go to your photobucket account.
Hover your mouse pointer over the picture that you want.
Several options will appear.
Go down to the IMG code and left click in the code box to the right.
Left click in the code box and select copy.

Now, while composing your post on this forum, right click at the place that you want the pic to appear and select paste. It will look like this:

Code: Select all

Here is a picture that I took in the San Juan Islands:

[img]http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/Hamin-X/Gato128.jpg[/img]

Cool, huh?

It will appear on the forum like this:

Here is a picture that I took in the San Juan Islands:



Cool, huh?

The forum software will automatically re-size the pic for easy viewing and when a member left clicks on it, the original size will be viewable. The board does not actually download, or store the pic, it just uses the code to make your browser do the work. Repeat for up to three pics/post. It is best to use the "Preview" option, to make sure that everything is OK, before you submit the post. There is a three picture limit/post, to help protect those that still have slow internet (me when out & about).

Flickr is a little more difficult.

• Left click on the pic that you want to post.
  Above the pic, left click on "All Sizes".
  Left click on the size that you want to post. Large works best.
  Right click on the pic.
  Left click on "Properties". A window will open.
  Beside Address (URL), is the url that you will post. Copy all lines of it.
  I triple click on it and it highlights all of it.
  Copy and paste this between the [Img] tags in your post.

Enjoy,

~Rich---Hamin' X~

[heinzir]

I believe that diagram is of the older Ventures that had the keel partially exposed when retracted. I believe these were the pre-hull liner models but I am no mac expert.

Yeah, I should have looked more closely at the diagram before I posted it. Like John's, my keel trunk extends farther aft and runs parallel to the bottom. I don't know if it goes all the way back to the aft bulkhead on the 25 but it does on the 23. Except for possibly the angles, the forward end in the diagram seems about right.

Henry

[ChockFullOnuts22]

I think that the diagram (the keel diagram Henry posted) is applicable specifically to the Mac 25's. From pictures I've seen(Google images), the Mac 25 doesn't have nearly the keel trunk that the V222 does; in fact, it almost looks nonexistent in the pictures. It definitely helps the cabin look bigger, and makes seating access at the table easier.

[flynfol]

Here goes my attempt at uploading pics...................wish me luck!

!	Moderator Note::
	Images must be hosted on a website that allows hot-linking. I have copied the images to my PhotoBucket account and linked to them, so that they can be displayed here. Hint: The image link that you use must end in a valid image extention. .jpg, .gif, .bmp, etc. ~Rich---Hamin' X~

[MD Dunaway]

Other than a bent keel lock bolt does anyone know of any damage to the keel or trunk as a result of having the bolt in and the keel locked in place?