When my family and I were sailing in New York Harbor this summer, we hit a
rock (or something--a casket, stolen car, the concrete-encased feet of a
mobster head down in the mud??? this was New York, after all) as we were
motoring away from the launch.
On our '98 P19, the keel was secured (and I can't describe this properly for
lack of the correct terminology) with four bolts on hinges that screwed down
on a slotted seat on the keel. The hinged parts were screwed into the keel
trunk and the bolts swung up to the slot on the keel, where they were
tightened down.
Whatever you call that arrangement, all four bolts snapped off (as I assume
they were designed to do!) when we hit the rock. Remarkably, we sustained
no other damage other than the bolts.
I tied the keel down with 3/8 or 1/4 inch line, running them through the
hinge pin on the trunk. This seemed to work very well. We had no water in
the cabin and everything seemed secure. I kept it that way the rest of the
season, and will probably continue to do so.
My only concern is whether or not the line will hold that keel in the event
that we flip the boat. It's not a big concern, because I'd be hard-pressed
to think of a scenario where I'd get that far over.
I've even thought that it would be nice to run this tie-down line back to
the cockpit so I can release the line and crank up the keel without climbing
down into the cabin to loosen it up.
Any thoughts/suggestions (apart from the suggestion that I learn the names
of these parts--and apart from the suggestion that I stop using all of these
parenthetical asides!)?
Thanks,
Dave Rein
P19 #991, Belle Isle
Rochester, MN