Swinging keel mechanism

[alessandrobalducci]

Dear friends,

some years ago I bought a Mac Gregor 26S (I am the forth owner!) and this boat had the system of swinging keel completely destroyed. I mean to the system into the cabin, because the keel and the parts in the water were ok. I tried to operate the mechanism in various modes, but all with many problems. Now I want to reset all to the original system, so I will kindly ask to an other owner how this mechanism works for rise and low the keel: in practice what can I build in the cabin for this purpose? Maybe someone has a drawing or a photo of that?
Thank you very much in advance for your answers and have my best regards.

Alessandro Balducci (Italy)

[chipveres]

I noticed that no-one had replied to your inquiry, so I thought I would try. First, please try to understand that I do not own the same model of boat as you, so I am talking about something I don't really know. Try doing a Google search like this: 26S centerboard site:www.macgregorsailors.com . This will get much better information.

I think your boat takes water ballast internally for weight. You will find two valves that admit water to the ballast tank when you are going to sea, and release it again when you return to land. Check the valves to make sure they operate freely and are not stuck. Details of this are in the Mac 26S manual under "Resources" at the top of this page.

The centerboard is only slightly heavier than water. It has a rope to pull it up. Some people tie the rope off to a cleat in the cabin, some lead it up to the top of the cabin, some use turning blocks to lead it to the cockpit. It's just a matter of taste.

Chip
S/V Macaroon (with a completely different keel)
Dania, FL

[Sumner]

Chip, just in case Alessandro doesn't get back here for a while I think we got him headed in the right direction on the other forum...

http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners. ... p?t=144971

I'm sure he appreciates the input though,

Sum

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[chipveres]

Cool, Sumner, thanks.

Chip