Sportina 730 keel lifting mechanism

[Phil7939t]

I have a Sportina 730 purchased about 18 months ago and would like to inspect the keel lifting mechanism but can't work out how to get at it. The boat is due to be antifouled so there will be access underneath. I've taken the table top off but there is a moulding around it that prevents inspection or access and no sign of a pivot bolt. Anyone got any idea how to get at the tackle.

 

[Phil7939t]

Solved it, When crawling about underneath now it's off the bench trailer I can see there are brackets and bolts on the bottom of the boat to allow the keel to fall out. Didn't try it as was able to inspect lifting strop with an endoscope.

 

[Rafflesover]

Solved it, When crawling about underneath now it's off the bench trailer I can see there are brackets and bolts on the bottom of the boat to allow the keel to fall out. Didn't try it as was able to inspect lifting strop with an endoscope.

Hi Phil, we have the same boat and problem. Do you know if there are pulleys which need inspecting /maintenance? Hope you can help, thanks, susan

 

[Phil7939t]

There are pulleys on the deck, one at the top of the king post tube which runs down the front of the centreboard case and one near the bottom of this tube where the wire turns horizontally to the top of the centreboard. To remove the centreboard there are bolts on 'L' shaped flanges under the boat which support the centreboard pivot, so if you remove these the centreboard drops out. We didn't want to go to that much hassle but wanted to inspect the end of the wire where it attaches to the centreboard, so we purchased a cheap endoscope off eBay. This was about 2ft long, plugged into your mobile phone and has LED's on the end to light up what you wanted to view. We had the boat on frames to antifoul it so just rolled underneath and poked the endoscope up the gap. Worked well enough to see there was no damage on the wire and give us a visual inspection of the pulley which is stainless steel so unlikely to have much wear. If we had needed to we would have dropped the board out but that looks to be a heavy awkward job. If you do that I understand there are shims at the pivot point to stop the board slopping side to side in the box.
Where are you based, we're at Carsington SC in Derbyshire, always nice to keep in touch with owners of similar boats.
Hope that helps. Phil

 

[Rafflesover]

There are pulleys on the deck, one at the top of the king post tube which runs down the front of the centreboard case and one near the bottom of this tube where the wire turns horizontally to the top of the centreboard. To remove the centreboard there are bolts on 'L' shaped flanges under the boat which support the centreboard pivot, so if you remove these the centreboard drops out. We didn't want to go to that much hassle but wanted to inspect the end of the wire where it attaches to the centreboard, so we purchased a cheap endoscope off eBay. This was about 2ft long, plugged into your mobile phone and has LED's on the end to light up what you wanted to view. We had the boat on frames to antifoul it so just rolled underneath and poked the endoscope up the gap. Worked well enough to see there was no damage on the wire and give us a visual inspection of the pulley which is stainless steel so unlikely to have much wear. If we had needed to we would have dropped the board out but that looks to be a heavy awkward job. If you do that I understand there are shims at the pivot point to stop the board slopping side to side in the box.
Where are you based, we're at Carsington SC in Derbyshire, always nice to keep in touch with owners of similar boats.
Hope that helps. Phil

Hi, thank you so much for that - really helpful. We'll probably get the boat put on stands so we can check it out (it's currently on its trailer in the garden so not easy to access!). We live in West Lancashire and usually keep the boat on Coniston over the spring /summer. Nice to make contact with a fellow sportina owner!

 

[Richardo658]

Hi Phil and Rafflesover,

I have a Sportina 730 on Coniston also. My keel has started banging on the keelbox when moored up in breezy weather (it's at the top end [having moored in the shallow and given it a wiggle from underneath]). I believe there are rubber suppots at the top end of the keel to stop sideways movement and am hoping it is just one or more of these that have given up. I'm pulling to boat out at the end of october and have obtained the use of a keelboat trailer which I am hoping will give enough access and height for me to drop the keel out to have a look (i'd be using wooden frames and jacks!).

I read somewhere else that the keel comes out through the cabin, but I think that was from a Sportina 680 owner and someone has suggested that they are lifting (rather than swinging) keels. When previously antifouling on my low trailer, I did see some (small) screw heads underneath: it looked to me that this might be for some kind of keel carrier that, once the screws are removed, drops out with the keel assembly. Im guessing I'd need to disconnect the keel lifing wire at bottom of the mast and connect a 'fishing' rope to this before dropping the keel. Tis all a bit scary, but without any boat lifting tackle on Coniston and a desire to remain afloat (financially ........... excuse the pun!), I'm thinking ill need to give it a go.

Any information or suggestions you people have would be much appreciated.