Keel has come to grief.

Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:16 pm

We have been having problems coming through the wind for quite a while. I replaced the large genoa with a smaller river jib (we are Broads-based). With the dinghy in tow all was great, but alone, Rondonay would gybe but not tack. We played with the rudder, the sail blocks, the sail settings, all to no avail. Which left the keel angle to be considered.

We took the boat out on a quiet broad and began to experiment. I wound down until there was a loose feel to the mechanism & the gear was beginning to rise; I stopped there, mindful that on some Swifts you can wind the keel off the screw entirely! I was surprised to feel it move freely, too, because out keel has always been really stiff, I had only given it a shot of WD40. We began then to count 45 turns upwards to get the keel fully retracted as part of the checking process. At 34 it was really stiff & Phill had taken over winding, there was a nasty crack & the mechanism plate buckled downwards.

It hung on in there, thank goodness, and there was no water ingress into the cabin. Rondonay is now in the Whelpton Boatyard pending repair. They think the keel may have hit something and bent, which is quite possible, the rivers being what they are, narrow and tree lined. Any other thoughts?

CHERRY PIE · Post by **CHERRY PIE** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:29 am

I would'nt have thought that the keel would bend under any circumstances (cast iron) is it possible some half submerged piece of wood some how floated inside your keelbox? that would perhaps explain how the winding mecanism only raised the keel so far...with the extra force I could imagine the keel pressing up against an object inside the keelbox and causing the collapse of the support plate and surrounding grp... hope you got it sorted ok. Gary

Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 4:19 pm

Hello Gary,We have got the keel sorted. It turned out to be an invasion of Zebra Mussels up inside the keel housing, the keel is undamaged in itself. The plate has been straightened & reinforced and the boatyard have put a stopper on the bottom of the screw for me too. It is just finished today & we go to collect it on Saturday week.Actually, this experience has crystallised a decision. We are leaving the Broads and bringing the boat on to the Nene. We have found a lovely river mooring three miles from home, slipway and shared tools and all. This means we can keep Rondonay better maintained than at long distance, 3 hours down to ten minutes max. and I can do the jobs that were not really possible while we were sleeping on the boat. Nasty glues in cabin, boat on trailer etc. :0) We therefore will be trailing her more for holidays, which was part of the original plan. Windermere (..so watch out Dave! ) The Carrick Roads etc. and of course the lovely Norfolk Broads! Who knows, we could even end up sailing some of that salty lumpy stuff! Cost-wise this represents a huge saving, and I thought the Broads were cheap; mooring, club membership and river licence will total around Â£250 pa! I will miss lovely Ranworth though...Thanks for asking.Best wishes,Pauline

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Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:37 pm

We collected Rondonay on Friday and had a good weekend's sailing, both in light airs and, next day when everyone was double reefed!
She behaves perfectly now, is really responsive to the tiller and tacks like a good 'un. Phew!

Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:36 am

Absolutely, you remember she wouldn't tack to get into South Walsham Inner Broad when Vega and Fancy Free had no problem? It was that that really showed us the scale of the difficulty, up until then we had no benchmark for comparison. This season she was much worse. She's lovely now though and really responsive. Better than she has ever been.

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Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:23 pm

The learning curve here cost Â£900 I am afraid, that with a few other things like stripping & renewed antifouling included. She does feel like a different boat so we can see the benefit. The keel was always 'iffy' to wind, now it's smooth and positive.The yard was a bit shocked to see how thin the grp lay up was on top of the keel case and it is now at least three times thicker with at least three laminated layers apparent in the piece they cut out for the mechanism. They also added in two safety struts to stop her falling off the end of the screw.We paid, but the yard is the best on the Broads so I am confident in the quality of work and its longevity.

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Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:41 pm

We will probably move in mid October. There is not much scope for 'proper' sailing on the Nene, although there is room to sail the dinghy in club water, I will have to check if there's depth enough for Rondonay. We shall have to rely on trailing or taking the two day journey out to the sea at Wisbech. Advantages are; being nearby so maintenance is much easier; and we can pop down to the boat for a few hours on summer evenings, chill out and potter.

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Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:23 pm

Locks. Mostly electrified. There is a large flood plain lake in the club water that they sail.

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Terry · Post by **Terry** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:05 pm

Coming back to the keel business, I understand that it jammed coming up because of the Zebra Mussels but what was it that was causing the lack of responsiveness and the difficulty coming about. Was it because the keel was also not coming completely down?

Rondonay · Post by **Rondonay** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:31 pm

That is what we think. The keel has actually always been terribly stiff to wind and the boat has never sailed so well as she does now.

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