That sounds like a very innovative approach: I'd be interested if Jerry would weigh in on how many swing-keel 17's he built and why he discontinued them. Is your old 17' still sailing?
My last sail of the season was on a Sandpiper 565, which has a dagger board raised and lowered with a screw. The dagger board isn't prone to banging because it's seated firmly in its trunk and can be retracted completely. The problem with the design is that the boat won't sail when the board is retracted and it takes 95 (at least, I think that's what the owner's manual said) very difficult cranks to lower it completely. Imagine this scenario (I lived it): You ground close to shore. No problem, because you have a retractable dagger board and a beachable boat. But, as you retract the board to free the boat, you lose steerage, so the wind that could take you away from the shore if the board were down simply pushes you further into the shallows. So (okay, this is embarrassing, but I'll continue) someone jumps out of the boat to push you offshore (yeah, we were in that far) and point the bow in the right direction. However, even though you now have the momentum to escape, you can't steer because the board is up, so you have someone at the tiller screaming that the board needs to be dropped while you furiously try to crank it down in the few seconds you have before you ground again. It turned out alright, but it was a quick lesson on the shortcomings of a screw-driven dagger board. Okay, I can't beach my M17' like the Sandpiper, but I've beach-camped, anchoring my Monty in shin-deep water (and I'm only 5' tall) and schlepping my gear ashore. It seems, in my limited experience, that the keel/centerboard arrangement is the best option in the trailer-sailor's world of compromises. ----- Original Message ----- From: "L Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 7:52 PM Subject: Genuine Swing Keel I'm curious to know, did your swing keel "bang" in the trunk at anchor or in stays Not that I can remember.........The keel was raised or lowered into position using a "worm gear" which was operated by a crank on the aft end of the trunk. Since the weight of the keel was supported by the pivot pin, the worm gear would hold the keel in any position desired. It also kept the keel from swinging fore and aft when sailing in rough water. It was much easier to operate than the conventional winch and cable systems used on a lot of other boats..........and no fretting about the line slipping out of your hand and dropping the board. It helped fine tune the trim on the boat as well............ Lenny _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
