Seafarer 18ft

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pij27

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I have been given a Seafarer 18ft yacht and I am trying to find out some information regarding the lifting keel arrangement. Mine seems to be jammed in the up position, so apart from the steel skeg Keel I have no centreplate to allow me to sail easier.

Does anyone have any idea how they operated as I can't see any arrangement for lifting the keel? There is some wire attached to something within the centreplate box but no winch or securing attachment. Hopefully not to difficult to fix, just need to know where to look
 
As we responded to your previous thread (http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?500075-Seafarer-18& ) you will likely get more answers to these sorts of questions & this sort of boat by posting on the PBO (Practical Boat Owner) forum, rather than YM Scuttlebutt.

I used to own another boat built by Smallcraft years ago (a Shipmate Dayboat - great fun), and I can't remember exactly, but I think the rope to lift the centre-plate (about 6mm dia?) came out of a hole in the bulkhead at the front of the cockpit: simple but practical. Perhaps it is (or should be) the same or similar on the Seafarer?

As far as I can remember there was a wooden or plastic grip on the end of the rope, and the rope could be locked in place by a jamming cleat mounted flush in the bulkhead. So you just pulled the rope towards you to lift the plate, and when the plate was up as high as you wanted, you pulled down on the cord to jam in in the wedge shaped opening of the cleat. To let it down you put a bit of tension on the rope, then pulled it upwards out of the wedge.

I might be confusing this with another boat, but I think there may have been a drum mounted on the centre-plate casing, with the rope winding round one side of the drum, and the wire attached to the other. So, when you pull on the rope, it turns the drum, which in turn winds in the wire and lifts the plate. If you find you have the remnants of this system, but need more info to put it together again, have a search for the website of the Shipmate owners club, which used to be small but surprisingly active. They may be able to help.

As I said in the previous thread, it is quite likely the plate is simply jammed up by a stone between the casing and the plate. You will need to have the boat lifted or rolled onto its side to find out if that is the case, and resolve the problem. (Mind the plate can't drop on your head if it suddenly releases!) Check first, though, that the wire holding up the plate hasn't been locked in place somehow. Do you know for sure there is actually a plate in there (i.e. it hasn't been removed/lost)?

p.s. I've just had a Google search for images of the Seafarer 18, one of which shows the centreboard case is in the cockpit (not in the cabin as per my Shipmate, but it does have the drum I described, with the rope locked by a cam-cleat.
 
Last edited:
pij27 said:
Thanks will check it out
Click to expand...

Also take some photos and post them as requested in one of your other threads on this topic

and answer William_ H question as to whether it is a straight lift or pivoted swinging keel

With the same question repeated on Scuttlebutt, Classic, and PBO forums things are going to become messy if there are replies on all three. It would be a good idea , therefore, to ask the moderators to combine the three into one thread on the most appropriate forum.
 
it was posted on the various forums because not everyone reads all the forums and was hoping to cover all bases. Will discuss with the moderator to have them merged
 
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