Clogged swing keel slot.

[Blackwatchman]

Hello everyone, I own a Seamaster Sailer 23 with the pivoting drop keel. I am having terrible problems keeping mud out of the keel slot due to berthing in a muddy, drying at low tide harbour. The keel jams in the slot constantly and I was wondering if anyone has found a workable solution to this problem. I've considered fitting thick industrial brushes either side of the slot or even heavy rubber baffles but as the keel doesn't fully retract inside the slot I'm not convinced it will work. Any advice or examples of a working solution would be gratefully received.
Thanks Alastair

 

[MADRIGAL]

A similar problem occurs with Wayfarers beached on shingle, with small stones jamming the plate inside the case. Rubber strips either side of the slot have been recommended in that case. Something like that might work for you even though the plate would remain partly extended between the flaps.

 

[Tranona]

Not sure there really is a workable solution other thane already considering. Old style east coast centreboarders used to have their cases built with removable tops so that you could pass a steel lath down the side snd stones.of the board to clear the mud.

 

[DoubleEnder]

We used to have a Snapdragon with a similar setup. If you know that there is enough depth of soft mud, you could try leaving the centreboard down, rather than lifting it when you leave the boat. It may help. But very often we would remove the top of the case and have a good poke around with a sail batten to get he mud out

 

[Blackwatchman]

Not sure there really is a workable solution other thane already considering. Old style east coast centreboarders used to have their cases built with removable tops so that you could pass a steel lath down the side snd stones.of the board to clear the mud.

Thanks for the tip but my boat only has a 15mm hole at the aft end of the top side of the housing. Where a rod can be hammered down onto the keel to shift it. Not the best design for muddy East coast harbours. Thanks anyway

 

[Blackwatchman]

A similar problem occurs with Wayfarers beached on shingle, with small stones jamming the plate inside the case. Rubber strips either side of the slot have been recommended in that case. Something like that might work for you even though the plate would remain partly extended between the flaps.

Thanks, that was one idea I was considering, although I'm not sure it wouldn't just prevent any mud that does get in from being able to be flushed out again.

A similar problem occurs with Wayfarers beached on shingle, with small stones jamming the plate inside the case. Rubber strips either side of the slot have been recommended in that case. Something like that might work for you even though the plate would remain partly extended between the flaps.

 

[Blackwatchman]

We used to have a Snapdragon with a similar setup. If you know that there is enough depth of soft mud, you could try leaving the centreboard down, rather than lifting it when you leave the boat. It may help. But very often we would remove the top of the case and have a good poke around with a sail batten to get he mud out

Thanks, I'm not sure of the depth of the mud, I imagine it's pretty deep as Granton harbour hasn't been dredged in decades. Is there a chance the keel could get bent or twisted in that scenario? I'm on a swing mooring you see.

 

[DoubleEnder]

probably best not to leave it down then. My berth was against staging, so the boat always settled in the same hole that she'd dug herself.

 

[dunedin]

Thanks, I'm not sure of the depth of the mud, I imagine it's pretty deep as Granton harbour hasn't been dredged in decades. Is there a chance the keel could get bent or twisted in that scenario? I'm on a swing mooring you see.

Based on how bumpy it can get in Granton in an Easterly gale I would be very wary about leaving a lifting keel stuck in mud.

 

[DownWest]

Having had that problem in the past, I would use a multitool to cut two slots in the top of the case to allow a piece of ss flat bar (3,4 mm) to be inserted down either side of the plate to clear it. Slots to be just long enough to be able to swing the flat fore and aft by about 45°. Then arrange a rubber sealing cover to close the slots .

 

[neil_s]

My Seal 28 has a vertically lifting drop keel. I have a drying mud and shingle mooring. I used to have trouble with the keel sticking in the box - it weighs 1000 lbs! - I found that leaving it down about 5 turns on the handle keeps it free most of the time. I guess the small movement on each tide keeps the mud and stones moving on. On the odd occasion the keel does not descend when required, a few turns of 'up' restores normal operation.

 

[Blackwatchman]

My Seal 28 has a vertically lifting drop keel. I have a drying mud and shingle mooring. I used to have trouble with the keel sticking in the box - it weighs 1000 lbs! - I found that leaving it down about 5 turns on the handle keeps it free most of the time. I guess the small movement on each tide keeps the mud and stones moving on. On the odd occasion the keel does not descend when required, a few turns of 'up' restores normal operation.

Thanks Neil, on reviewing the consensus of opinions, I think I'm going to abandon the rubber seal plot as it's likely just to seal in any fine sediment that is pressurised into the keel slot by the weight of the boat settling into the mud. I'll attempt to leave the keel protruding a bit and use the winch and it's weight to release it from the claws of Forth muddiness every time we head out. Hopefully we'll be getting more outings in this coming season as we're a bit better organised and feeling slightly more confident about sailing (only our second season). I'll explore the option of replacing the keel at some point to add more steel (and weight) as it's thinned considerably since it's replacement in 1995. Such are the joys of owning a quinquagenarian vessel