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Post by frehje on Jun 7, 2021 8:22:43 GMT
I just bought my Sun 2000 and it seams like a wonderful boat. However, we have a problem om getting the swing keel to get 100% down. Without any problems, it lowers about 50% making a 45 degree angel rather than straight down. When swimming we can force the keel all the way but then it was really difficult to get back up. Does anyone have any suggestions on what might cause the problem and how to solve this?
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Post by rene460 on Jun 7, 2021 10:51:38 GMT
Hi Frehje,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your purchase. It will provide you and your family with years of enjoyment.
Always a worry when the keel won’t go down. The good news is that as far as I can tell, your board is more of a centre board to provide lateral resistance than a keel for stability. So while you are working things out, I would suggest sailing with the board at 45 degrees rather than force it down. You might notice a bit of extra helm required to hold course, and possibly even Lee helm (centre of lateral resistance aft of optimum) which is not ideal but will get you home. The problem with forcing it down is that if it jams down, it may be more difficult to access lifting facilities. You can sail well enough with it up unless it is actually a heavy keel intended to add to stability.
Is this an issue that probably came with the boat? Or did it initially go down properly and has since developed the tendency to jam? And have you touched ground some time around when the problem was first noticed? Do you have drawings or sketches of the lift mechanism for your boat? There was a pervious recent thread involving the Sun 2000 keel, and that includes some sketches which will be of assistance if you have nothing else. Based on those sketches, there is no immediately obvious point where it might jam. If you put “Sun 2000” or “lift keel” in the search box at the top of the forum, you will easily find it. There is a wealth of information in the previous posts that is worth browsing in quiet evenings.
It is possible that the board has developed a crack which has allowed water to enter and cause swelling, particularly if it has ever run aground, even gently. Inevitably the board then swells at some point and the swelling might jam on the narrowest part of the keel case on the way down. A bit of a guess really, as halfway down is not the most obvious point to jam, but it would depend on the shape of the keel box. Or barnacles or other growth in the casing. Rudders on keel boats occasionally develop this problem, but of course the swelling does not particularly affect the function in that case. Centre boards are more likely to touch, and the forces involved in suddenly stopping the boat can be enormous.
It would be quite difficult to do much on a trailer if that is your normal storage. I suggest that you will need to lift the boat at a boat yard or marina with a travel lift, and set it on a stand high enough to let the board fully down. If you can force it down in the water, it will most likely come down more easily when it is not experiencing the floatation effect of being immersed in water. Be prepared with a flat strip of metal such as a 60 cm steel rule that you can use as a feeler to check for any interference either side between the board and the casing.
It is also possible that something is jamming in the lift rope system. If the boat is new to you, it is hard to guess what a previous owner may have experienced or modified. For example a splice in the rope, if the problem has been present since you bought the boat. So it is worth pulling the rope down as far as possible so you can inspect all the rope and as much of the pulley system as possible. If necessary, sew an extra tail on the lift rope so you don’t loose the end you will need to pull it up. If you have any doubts, replace the rope while you are at it.
Please come back and let us know what you find as your investigation continues.
rene460
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Post by frehje on Jun 7, 2021 13:41:24 GMT
Thanks for the answer. I bought the boat a week ago and put it into the water the first time this weekend, so it is very new to me. The boat has not been stored in water so I do not think the keel has swelled. I have looked at the sketches and wonder about the bracket, is it a metal piece "holding" the keel at the pin.
I'll try to lift the boat and see if something looks wrong.
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Post by rene460 on Jun 8, 2021 10:21:44 GMT
Ok, so the boat probably had the problem when you bought it. And history not known. But should still be relatively easily fixed.
If the boat is not kept in the water, does that mean it is on a trailer? In that case, by crawling under and looking up and probing with a thin steel ruler, you should be able to identify areas that might prevent the free movement. But I expect the boat will have to be lifted to allow the keel to be removed.
If you are looking at the sketch in the thread I mentioned earlier, the bracket (3) is almost certainly metal. I suspect the shaped part (2) might also be metal, and heavy for ballast, but I don’t really know. Scratch it a bit with a screwdriver and you should be able to determine what it is. If it is metal, be prepared for it to be heavy when you start removing it. Much safer than assuming it is light, until you are sure. It will need re priming and repainting after you have completed the job anyway.
The board in my boat is suspended on a metal pin, but the metal of the pin is separated from the metal keel it sits in by a nonmetal sleeve, that probably insulates it electrically for corrosion protection as well as to reduce friction. There are similar sleeves in the board that allow the board to rotate around the pin. I think this might be a fairly common arrangement, but you will soon see if it is different.
rene460
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