keel winch

Posted By: david Bennett
Date: 3/5/08 9:36p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: CM21 72' keel release? help (Mike Sackett)

Th keel winch is a standard Fulton braking winch. You may find the model number on Joe Cox' site, if he is still active. If not, some others have maintained CM personal pages. I don't recommend a trailer winch, Joe/Gusto probably had a failing winch before it finally let go. In good condition it will not free wheel, the keel must be cranked down. Your keel is apparently frozen. The most likely causes are debris or fouling in the housing or a frozen pivot bolt. In the water, try putting a little slack in the cable and rock the boat. If you can't crank slack into the cable, replace the winch and cable. If the winch is OK and the boat is on the trailer, support the forward end of the keel with a bottle jack and a small piece of 2x4 and try to remove and replace it. On Feather, I had an eye swedged into the cable and attached it to the keel with an anchor shackle. Dave, former owner of Feather, CM21 I am an infrequent visitor now, but I occasionally check in to see that people are still sailing these beautiful boats.