Drop keel/centre plate on Sun 2000

[cloudnine]

My Sun 2000 is currently on a high cradle for antifouling. The drop keep / centre plate is free to move and I can be let the plate down on the line from the cockpit but is impossible to raise by pulling on this line. The only way to lift the plate is to push it up from below. Is this usual? I have checked the blocks in the keel housing and all seem the be working / rotating ok. I have been told that the plate is probably hollow and will have positive bouyancy when in the water making it easier to lift - is this true?
Look forward to hearing from you.

[iancymru]

My previous boat a Delphia 29 had a fibreglass lifting keel and was the same I could lift it by hand when in the water but struggled with a winch when out. I always got someone to lift it manually when out of the water as was worried it was putting a lot of load on the various blocks and pulleys. I think if it lifts OK in the water and only struggling when out then its ok. 

[rene460]

Hi cloudnine,

My SO30i also has a lifting keel and has the same characteristic, very heavy to lift when out of the water, but quite easy when afloat.  It is ballasted to stay down when afloat, but has no excess weight to overcome extra friction if barnacles choose a cosy home, and then requires a push to go down.

It is because the volume of the board displaces a very significant amount of water so experiences the uplift that makes it so much easier to lift.  There is nothing wrong with this observation.  Archimedes and all that!  You can make an estimate from the dimensions of the board.  Like iancymru, I assist the board from below when raising it on the hard stand.

To give you an idea, my previous boat had a lifting daggerboard rudder which was a very heavy lift for me when shipping it for trailering.  Yet if I put it the water for a bit of a wash, it floated quite well.

Rene460

[cloudnine]

Thank you both, you have put my mind at rest. Going in on Thursday, will let you know if there are any problems. c9.