SO 29.2 - lift keel mechanism
Apr 10, 2021 14:35:15 GMT
Post by tudor777 on Apr 10, 2021 14:35:15 GMT
Have been an owner of an Sun Odyssey 29.2 lift keel since 2016. Have had lots of use - trips along to Devon and across the channel from Christchurch.
The boat is now showing its age and needs work, the main job being to take off the lifting keel and rust-proof it as well as possible. I've had a look at the threads & not found anything specific on a 29.4 lift keel removal so I thought i'd relay my experiences (so far)
The keel is kept in place by a 20mm dia stainless steel pin that is, in theory removable to allow the keel to drop out of its housing. The pin is kept in place by it passing through the two sides of the fixed part of the keel and has bolts screwed into threaded holes drilled into the ends of the 20mm pin. I have seen that some find that this arrangement is covered with gelcoat but mine was not having had some work done to rectify worn and enlarged holes in the fixed keel 15 years ago.
The bolts were removed without difficulty but then the problems began. The stainless pin could not be driven out of the lift keel. I did't want to hit it too hard as the sides of the fixed keel are not very thick and, as I assume are mode of cast iron, rather brittle. So, the decision was made to cut the ends of the pin off using a hack-saw blade & handle, something that took a number of hours... A new pin is being made up as I write!
Once done the keel dropped out - you have to slide it aft to a point where there is a wider gap in the fixed keel as there is lug on the lift keel to stop it falling out as soon as the pin is removed. It is worth noting that the pin is housed in a nylon sleeve which in turn is sleeved in steel. So, I would caution anyone from using a blow-torch to loosen the pin as the nylon would melt and would of course generate a further major problem.
I now have the keel in my workshop & have been presented with more problems. The pin still wont budge! I assume what has happened is the the steel has rusted against the nylon sleeve and that has made a super-tight fit onto the pin. I shall need to find someone with a bench press and hope nothing breaks!
You may be thinking at this point that I should have left it well alone. But, taking out the keel revealed a further problem waiting to manifest. The lift keel has a 10mm hole to which the rope-lift bracket is fixed. This is dangerously worn with an enlarged hole a only a few mm thickness to the keel remaining. Enough said.
I now have a race against time to get things sorted before craning in at the end of the month.
Whilst posting, one further thing of interest to any owners of 29.2s. I had occasion to remove the ply panel at the end of the aft berth recently. It comes away v easily by releasing 3 small screws at the top of the panel. Behind it you will find the bottom of the tiller post supported by a bracket and bearing. The bracket was pretty rusty and it was obvious why. There is not much stopping water running down from the point where the tiller post passes through the cockpit floor onto the bracket below. Granted, most of the time the fiberglass movable step protects the tiller post but I had not given the matter proper thought when washing the cockpit or when sailing in rough seas. Has anyone else had this problem & if so how was it resolved? If you've not. i'd recommend taking the ply panel off and inspecting your tiller bottom bearing!
Any comments / advice welcome
The boat is now showing its age and needs work, the main job being to take off the lifting keel and rust-proof it as well as possible. I've had a look at the threads & not found anything specific on a 29.4 lift keel removal so I thought i'd relay my experiences (so far)
The keel is kept in place by a 20mm dia stainless steel pin that is, in theory removable to allow the keel to drop out of its housing. The pin is kept in place by it passing through the two sides of the fixed part of the keel and has bolts screwed into threaded holes drilled into the ends of the 20mm pin. I have seen that some find that this arrangement is covered with gelcoat but mine was not having had some work done to rectify worn and enlarged holes in the fixed keel 15 years ago.
The bolts were removed without difficulty but then the problems began. The stainless pin could not be driven out of the lift keel. I did't want to hit it too hard as the sides of the fixed keel are not very thick and, as I assume are mode of cast iron, rather brittle. So, the decision was made to cut the ends of the pin off using a hack-saw blade & handle, something that took a number of hours... A new pin is being made up as I write!
Once done the keel dropped out - you have to slide it aft to a point where there is a wider gap in the fixed keel as there is lug on the lift keel to stop it falling out as soon as the pin is removed. It is worth noting that the pin is housed in a nylon sleeve which in turn is sleeved in steel. So, I would caution anyone from using a blow-torch to loosen the pin as the nylon would melt and would of course generate a further major problem.
I now have the keel in my workshop & have been presented with more problems. The pin still wont budge! I assume what has happened is the the steel has rusted against the nylon sleeve and that has made a super-tight fit onto the pin. I shall need to find someone with a bench press and hope nothing breaks!
You may be thinking at this point that I should have left it well alone. But, taking out the keel revealed a further problem waiting to manifest. The lift keel has a 10mm hole to which the rope-lift bracket is fixed. This is dangerously worn with an enlarged hole a only a few mm thickness to the keel remaining. Enough said.
I now have a race against time to get things sorted before craning in at the end of the month.
Whilst posting, one further thing of interest to any owners of 29.2s. I had occasion to remove the ply panel at the end of the aft berth recently. It comes away v easily by releasing 3 small screws at the top of the panel. Behind it you will find the bottom of the tiller post supported by a bracket and bearing. The bracket was pretty rusty and it was obvious why. There is not much stopping water running down from the point where the tiller post passes through the cockpit floor onto the bracket below. Granted, most of the time the fiberglass movable step protects the tiller post but I had not given the matter proper thought when washing the cockpit or when sailing in rough seas. Has anyone else had this problem & if so how was it resolved? If you've not. i'd recommend taking the ply panel off and inspecting your tiller bottom bearing!
Any comments / advice welcome