To the point, I removed my fixed keel (stuck keel) and horsed it into the back of my pickup for further work. I had planned on waiting until summer, but with the stuff Sean is going through, I wanted this project behind me. Additionally, although the month of March is typically good sailing in Arizona, a long business trip and several weekend social obligations pretty well nixed the sailing opportunities.
Drawing on the experience of others on this list, I proceeded as follows: 1. Took down the mast and removed the outboard and other heavy objects from the rear of the boat. 2. Hitched the boat up and trailered it down to the lake to get the bunks wet (and slippery-er) 3. Backed the boat back into my dry storage spot and ran a rope through the bow eye to the base of the fence posts (near their concrete footers) 4. Set the bow winch rope at approximately 28" back 5. Pulled the trailer forward under the stationary boat 6. Secured the boat bow to the trailer 7. Backed the boat trailer out over the depressed wash behind my dry storage spot to make room for the keel to drop 8. Removed the stop pin and went about lowering the keel After several hours of pulling, hammering, and wiggling (the keel) I finally got the back end out of the keel trunk. I had to trench a little of the wash (about three inches more) to finally get enough room to slide the keel out. From here I drug the keel up to the truck and eventually got it into the back. The keel is a little rusty but not as bad as I expected. It is not immediately obvious what was hanging the keel up when it was about halfway down. I may try Sean's idea of planning a board the thickness of the keel (after sandblasting) and stick it into the slot to see where it hangs, if any. Anybody know what the idea slot width is supposed to be? At any rate, the experience of others on this list helped me formulate the plan I used. I will try to post some pictures later this month. Removing the keel went well dropping it out into a wash. I think I will use a nice flat concrete surface with the aid of a forklift to put the keel back in. >From dry dock, Steve Shenkel <>< _/) M17# 263 Glendale, AZ _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
