Chrysler Sailors Forum

Clair and Kay Hofmann have come down to Merritt N.C. for a few weeks and were gracious enough to invite me and the wife up on the weekend. Clair and I spent the morning out on the water in what they call their 22' venture south. Back home they have a sister ship call 22' venture north. The commanders stayed behind on the dock soaking in the close to 80 deg weather while getting acquainted. I manned the tiller while Clair did the rest, my fumbling I'm sure was humorous but he kept a straight face. After lunch all four of us went back out in Clair's father's old powerboat.


As the day came to an end Clair showed me his 1979 C26. We spoke at length on the work we have done on each of our C26s... and the work still ahead. One highlighted point we spoke on was the keel shoes, Clair was of a mind that his were good to go. Mine on the other hand maybe not, when he heard that most of my bolt heads from what I can see on mine have rusted completely away. Pulling the shoes and dropping the keel may not be just a want to... but a most do.


I think Clair will have his C26 in his shop before too long, I hope he invites me back when he does so I can help/see first-hand how things are done. Thanks again Clair if not for you and others that have been kind enough to let me sail with them, I don't think I would ever get on the water until this project of mine is done. I'll post a few pics of my keel shoes if anyone has a commit.














Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

Now that's a great day !

On the keel bolts I can't tell from the pics but they may be hidden under some of the 'crud'. They are recessed and a bit hard to really see completely until you really clear out their pockets. I had a hard time cleaning of loads of bottom paint and gunk to even see EE's

This is in my near future too. If it's possible to get pictures of the process when they do it, a few of us would be greatly appreciative!

Believe me... there will be lots of pics, but I assure you with the limited time and money I can a lot to this project it's going to take some time to complete. I get the feeling there are a few C26 sailors out there that are holding back seeing who will be the first to take on this ordeal. Not knowing any better... it may be me, but don't hold your breath for a quick time table.

There are other good points to all of this, with the C26 high enough off the trailer to get this done, I'll be able to drop the rest of the rudder and get a close up look at the bottom (another ordeal I fear). Last but not least... getting up into the keel well to check out its overall condition. This C26 came to me with no history to speak of... so going to the trouble to check out every inch of this sailboat I can get to will only be a plus for me in the long run.

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

There are also a few pics on Windward's site that show a replacement keel shoe for the C26, the number and location of bolt holes on the replacement may be helpful..if I recall right Magic Lady's owner from that article passed away a while back...
Article is here

Just my opinion, your keel does not look that bad. Hope you do more sailing soon

Chrysler20%26 wrote:Just my opinion, your keel does not look that bad. Hope you do more sailing soon

Glad you said it...I was thinking the same thing.

Thanks guys... I'm really not all work and no play, the keel itself is good just needs a bit of work and a paint job. It's the shoes that may give me trouble and if the shoes come off the keel will automatically follow.

Terrence
Wilmington N. C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

Glad to hear you got on the water Terrence and it might help motivate you to complete yours as soon as finances allow.