Keep Bolt Replacement/ Maintainince

[jollyroger47]

Hello all,

I have owned my 1983 Macgregor 25 for just under a year and a half. I read in the owners manual that it is recommended to have the keel bolt replaced or serviced annually, but I dont think it has been done for years. I bought the boat from someone who said that they didnt have the boat hauled out for the seven years that they owned it. I am thinking I should have it done as soon as I can, however, I should ask, is there anything else I should consider having serviced if and when I do have the boat hauled out again. Like the cable for the keel or even the winch? I had the boat hauled out not too long ago for a marine survey for an interested buyer, but I am now keeping the boat and want to make sure I do my due diligence. Any seasoned wisdom will be appericiated.

Thanks for reading,

Jollyroger

[sailboatmike]

Do the keel cable and the keel bolt, better preventive maintenance that have to pull it out again if something fails.

While your there check all the standing rigging top to bottom, look for any stray wires or broken strands, 19 x 1 will unravel at a rate of knots with just one broken strand and its not pretty when it does, also check all the pins and make sure they have locking clips.

A few dollars and hours spent on preventive maintenance can save you a small fortune (read large fortune, after all it is a boat) if something goes astray

[steve4]

I just got an '82 25 myself and have some of the same concerns.

When you say "do the keel cable and the keel bolt" I assume you mean the main hinge for the keel to swing on and not the locking bolt. Am I correct? Do you have any guidance on how to do this myself? or is it one of those "let the pro's handle it" kinda things?

Thanks in advance.

[Maraquita]

When I had my 25 I did look at and grease the keel hinge bolt every year. I was able to pull the bolt out with the boat on the trailer and the keel would not move. I could see through the hole and get a good idea of the shape of the keel bolt hole in the iron keel (no "Rust Bubbles") using a mirror and flashlight. I don't remember ever even replacing the bolt, just slathered it up with the same waterproof grease I used for the wheel bearings and put it back together.
If it takes more than very light tapping with a rubber mallet to get it out of there, your trailer might not be holding it up as nice as mine did. Next time you are on the water have someone watch the bolt head while you crank it down. If the bolt head does not move, then you aren't dealing with a rusted in bolt and I would suspect that you are going to need to put a floor jack under it and move it around some while a partner taps it out. Either way it is not a terrible job.
I did not check my cable until it broke on me while heading for the launch ramp to retrieve the boat one day. I would not recommend waiting that long! To disconnect it you do have to lift the aft of the boat off the trailer about a foot. As others have explained, lower the tongue, slide support under the back of the boat, raise the tongue as high as you can. Crank the keel down unto a support, or the ground if it will go that far. I found that most of my problems were with the bolt/fitting attaching the cable to the keel. I wound up replacing that fairly often (2 or 3 years). The cable seemed to wear the worst right where it came out of the tube on top of the trunk and headed up to the winch. Once I started to look at it I got plenty of warning before it broke completely. I believe that I changed the cable twice in about 12 years.