Hi - this is a great forum to have found, and apologies for posting in English, but I’m afraid my Dutch is non-existent!
I have MG Classic / Armour 700 - 2003 build. Its belonged to the family since built.
Don’t normal raise the keel but had to try recently to get through a lock where I sail (Shoreham-By-Sea in the UK). The keel wouldn’t raise, so we waited for a higher tide.
Anyway, in trying to winch the keel up today, the steel cable snapped (either it was corroded or the keel did move and then dropped - I’m not strong enough to snap one!)
Two questions:
- Does anybody know how secure the keel is without the cable? I can’t see that the cable would have held the keel into the boat - but before I use her again (and I will have to sail her elsewhere to get this fixed) - I want to try to find out what is holding the keel into her…
and
- Has anybody ever changed the keel winch system on one of these? If so - any tips or ideas would be appreciated! I know the drum bolts through into the cabin, and I assume that I can get her lifted out, get the mast off and then remove the deck plate to get to the drum. But beyond that I’m not quite sure how to proceed!
David
Hi.
I do not know if the lifting construction on your boat is the same as on the clever 23.
On the 23:
The drum can be removed by releasing the bolt/threaded screw at the site of the keel-box. Once released the axle of the drum can be removed. Catch the drum as you remove the axle.
Remove the trim around the top of the keelbox at the inside of the boat. You now see two bolts that hold the U shaped stainless support that hold the end of the cable. Remove bolts.
Now you need to lift the keel. This can be done bij placing the boat at a low stand. Or place it in a high stand and lift the keel. I did this once: start with a crowbar, use two stacks of wood and bricks to place under the keel. Once you have enough room you can use a smal hydrolic jack. Jack it op, place more bricks, jack it up, repeat.
Once you can reach the top of the keel from the deck you can feed the new cable into the block, connect it to the U support and rebuild the whole thing.
On my boat the block for the cable on the keel was broken. I replaced it for a ‘tufnol’ block. I don’t know the english word for that.
To replace the block I had to lift the keel even more to remove the axle of the block: not enough space for the axle to be removed.
Gr Rob
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Removed my answer this is waaaaay better haha