Keel

[macsailor]

My boat is under a foot of snow, so its a bit early to be asking perhaps, but ... Last fall, while sailing in a fairly stiff breeze, main reefed, genoa half furled, my X seemed to want to slip sidways, and we found it was easier to gybe at times than it was to tack. My keel line indicated the keel was all the way down, but I dont know for sure as it didn't seem to handle like it was. Im going to replace the line in the spring. When I hauled in the fall I checked and couldnt seem to see any reason why the keel wouldnt go all the way down. Some have said on here that the keel is hollow so it will fill to add more weight. I bottom painted last year, and if it is hollow, did I paint the hole!!! Inever had this problem before, so any help would be appreciated....Fair winds....

[Frank C]

Doesn't the amount of slack in your CB line tell you when your board has dropped to vertical? My line extends only about 8 inches beyond the factory cleating position when fully deployed.