replace winch cable on cm21......HELP

Well I tried jacking the back of the boat up enough to get to the cable. No luck. I'm raising the whole boat....Kinda scary. I can see the connection, but its still about 8" inside the trunk. It has a clevis, a caribiner and a cable fitting on it and then runs through a pulley to an exit hole and then to the winch. No wonder it would not come up.

Plan "B" Lower the thing back onto the bunks and move it back a bit to allow the keel to come down to the ground then start over. I think if I move it back far enough I can jack up the whole back of the trailer enough to clear the fitting. That will leave the boat securely attached to the trailer. I have the jacks and lots of jack stands and wood.

The only option other than that looks like cutting into the trunk and changing it from the inside. I don't know why they didn't build it that way. How hard would it be to put an inspection port on the side of the trunk.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Russ

I wish I could help but I have not gotten as far as you yet. It sounds like the hardest job on these boats.

I have heard people digging a hole in the ground and then lowering the keel into the hole to allow access to the cable. Other option is to put on a mask and dive under there to re rig it.

You need to be careful, first and foremost. That keel is heavy and has been known to hurt people.

Hi,

I just had an idea, not saying it will work, but who knows?

Try to lean the boat in very shallow water to try and reach the keel.

Good luck

I did this close to a dozen times on my Clipper 26. Beach it. Put the wire through the fitting inside the boat. Go under the boat. Put the wire through the keel hole and loop it. I used two of those U shaped cable binders and used a ratchet to tighten the loop. Took maybe 3 or 4 trips under to secure it. I only got near enough to the shore to give me room to fit under the boat safely. Takes maybe 10 minutes to get her done.These connections never failed. It was mostly one of our five kids tightening the winch too much when I wasn't looking. I would then unscrew the fitting that the wire passed through and stuff in some rags or insulation saturated with water proof grease. This would prevent any splashing up through the hole when we were overloaded or encountered heavy seas. My fitting also had a grease nipple on it to pump grease into it to provide a water proof seal. I also stuffed one of those rubber trailer V things in the forward keel cavity to soften the blow if the cable broke while in the up position. Eventually I glued some carpet in the keel cavity sides to soften that relentless side to side pounding the keel would make when docked or at anchor.
I owned my clipper for ten years. It was a great boat.

Thanks all.

I finally got it figured out. Pictures will be forthcoming. I lowered the tongue to the ground, blocked the stern which is now three feet in the air then raised the trailer back up. Then jacked up the trailer a bit and blocked the bow end. I then lowered the trailer and pulled it out from under the boat which was now sitting in a sort of cradle, and quite secure. A friend got inside and lowered the keel. It came down low enough for me to cut the old mess off and now ready to attach the new. Then its finish cleaning the keel and a coat of paint or two.

Then its reverse the process, and I'll be able to work on the winch and its location. It just seems either at the wrong angle or location. The cable has cut a groove in the top of the trunk where it exits. Also the pin holding the pulley at the top of the trunk that the cable goes over before exiting is bent. More projects.

Russ

Retired

What did you use to block it. This sounds like an easy and clever way to fix the problem.

RJM,

How do you un-beach the boat? If I ran into the beach I could not see an easy to get her back in the water. Unless you are doing this on the ocean and using the tides to help.

Didn't get right up on the beach. Just shallow enough water for the hanging keel to rest on the bottom. Once the cable was connected to the winch, I would crank it up and back away. I did the jack the back up on the trailer once. Too much stress involved.For both me and the boat and trailer.

RJM

So I assume that you tethered to something or did use use the anchor? Sounds like a good plan. I just am not sure about how I would secure mine unless I tied my boat to a tree close to shore or do you even have to tie to something?

Floody,

It actually wasn't all that bad. The jacking and cribbing takes time, but overall the boat seems quite secure. It is blocked up on both ends and has supports on both sides about even with the cabin hatchway. I can push on it an it will give but in no way is it unstable. The keel dropped down to where the attachment point for the cable was about 2 to 3 inches below the hull which was plenty of room to get in there and cut the old rusted bolt off and drive it out. It had a shackle through the keel which was hooked to another shackle which was hooked to a quik link which was hooked to the cable.

I will post the pictures where they can be looked at. I still haven't figured out how to post them here. They will be on a link. Got to get them off the camera first.

Oh and as a side note. I can now clean the area where it sat on the bunks.

Russ

Yea Russ please post pictures if you can.

I would like to copy what you have done this way I can peek at my keel "guts". I don't have a broke cable but since I had damage in the interior may as well get in there and see if the keel trunk needs attention too.

Good ideas on this thread.