drop plate chain connection
peter booker - Thu 19 Oct 2006 20:10:00 Anyone out there come up with a sensible option to the dangling chain syndrome?
I am suprised that such a super boat has been let down by such a primitive keel hoist mechanism.
Mine is in thed drive presently and I can retrive the keel with a bent clothes hanger but would really like to take the lot out and do the job properly.
Suggestions please.
Can we post photos on this site?
Thanks
Peter.
Replies
Mark - Thu 26 Oct 2006 14:19:54 I used a thin stainless shackle and with a couple of hammers I peened a stainless pin through the shackle and plate - basically riveting it on making sure was thin enough not to restrict movement. Stainless might not be best if you are a float most of the year (galvanic/electrolitic action or something - not good).
I did this with the chain through the slot and the plate completeley lowered out of the keel. Once done, I slotted the plate back in the keel and fitted the pivot bolt.
BTW you can now post pictures - looking forward to seeing some 
peter booker - Sat 28 Oct 2006 08:52:00 Mark,
Many thanks for your kind suggestions. I will try something similar once I have managed to levitate the boat high enough to drop the plate clear!
I am e-mailing you the ID plate photo to your e-mail address as I can't figure out how to reduce the file size small enough to go on the message board! I may be wrong but as I mentioned earlier, my sail number matches the hull ID number on the plate. Not conclusive but may be correct?
Many thanks for your advice.
Best regards
Peter
Mark - Sat 28 Oct 2006 12:16:02 Thanks for the picture. I have shrunk it down a bit appended it to your post in the Hull Identification thread.
I use Faststone image viewer available at www.faststone.org to edit my photos. It is FREE to download and use, and allows you to crop, resize and increase compression ratios to reduce the size of photos. It works with lots of different file formats and allows you to change the format.
k knox - Thu 14 Jun 2007 20:26:14 hi Mark
the chain mechanism for lifting the keel just gave way. is it possible to access the attachment point by removing the ss plate through which the chain moves. if not can you give me the position of the pivot bolt in the central keel. Also how much clearance is required to remove the keel completely.
i am contemplating putting blocks under the boat on the slip as the tide goes out to give as much clearance as possible.(ie small block at bow. big blocks under outer keels) thanks for any help offered
keith
Mark - Fri 15 Jun 2007 07:48:41 Hi Keith, I am away from home at the moment but will be back on monday 18th. Will post a picture of where the pivot bolt is. You need at least around 20 inches of clearance between the bottom of the keel and the ground to easily fit and remove the plate. The keel is about 8 inches deep so if you are putting blocks under the hull then they need to be at least 2 and half feet. When I did Sophie the boat yard supported her on a block of wood on top of a standard 45 gallon drum. You can see the amount of clearance in the photos in Sophies log.
keith - Sat 16 Jun 2007 14:48:04 hi Mark
thanks for replying so promptly. i await the info eagerly.
keith
Mark - Mon 18 Jun 2007 21:31:07 Here's a photo of where the keel bolt is. A bit blurry I'm afraid. 
k knox - Fri 22 Jun 2007 18:25:27 hi thanks for photo
can i assume i am looking at the bottom of the keel and that the bolt centre is 7" from the back of it.
keith
Mark - Fri 22 Jun 2007 19:45:37 Sorry Keith, I should have out a bit more detail in my post. The tape measure in the photo wasn't really trying to show a distance from anything, it is just there to idea of scale.
The view is of the bottom edge of the front of the keel. The bolt was resined in and is about 2 inches behind the front edge of the keel and about 1 inch up from the bottom edge. I presume the there will be some variation between boats but this should get you into the right ballpark.
k knox - Sat 23 Jun 2007 16:43:32 Hi Mark
thanks for the info.
keith
