Chrysler Sailors Forum

Hello all,I have a 1978 C-26 located on West Point Lake Ga. Due to the drought we are in the lake is about 13 feet below normal and my slip has only about 2 inches of water, my cable has been broken for some time so the keel was fully extended when the water level dropped.Has anyone experienced this or would anyone have an idea if the keel would go straight down in the mud,or retract back into the hull? I would appreciate any advice or comments and I hope everyone else is sailing and not dock bound like me.

As dry as you guys are over there, the bottom might have been pretty hard instead of muddy. From what you say, if you are pretty much aground now, then the keel must be back in the pocket, or mostly back in the pocket - else it would be stuck like a stick about 4 feet in the ground and that doesn't seem likely.

Is she sitting upright in the slip still? And do you have enough room to careen her over and have a look at the keel ?

I can see where this could be bad - if she is stuck and stays stuck when that 13 feet of water does come back - uh-oh.

Keep us updated, this is an interesting line of thought to say the least !!

Thanks for the insight,she is not upright,laid on the dock on the port side with her bow pushed into the dock,her fenders are between the hull and dock but they are crushed pretty good,ill try to post some pics,and believe it or not im not in as bad shape as some of the others!!

If you have any trouble posting the pics email them to me, and I'll be glad to "host" them for you. Guess you could get out and dig around the keel to see what you find ?

Wow

thanks,i have thought of doing that,think i might give it a try this weekend,there is another c-26 down the docks from me who had a broke cable some while back and they set me up with a diver who fixed theirs for about $200,of course the water has to rise first but it seems reasonable to me.

I had a similar experience with my C26. I initially thought my pivot pin failed but after getting in the water found it was the cable. Mine also failed at the dock but my slip is only about 30" deep and the keel only went partially into the mud. I was able to rake and shovel enough mud away to reach the shackle on the keel. I then payed out enough cable to push it down the tube and come up outside the boat. I got a thimble and 2 u bolt style cable clamps and put a loop on the end of the cable. I tied a galvenized D shackle into the loop, tied the pin with a long string around my wrist( you know I'd drop it at least once) and started diving. After about 3 tries, I got the D shackle into the shackle on the keel. I was then able to crank the winch up. Not a permanent fix but it will hold while the boat sits at the dock waiting to be pulled. I don't know if that will work for you if your keel is straight down. Any chance you can winch the boat foward in the slip to try to raise the keel some? Good luck
Clair

The keel is pretty far from the vertical when fully down, I am sure it is simply back in the keel box.

If you have moderate underwater swimming skill you do not need to pay a diver when you get to put a new cable there. I have changed mine 2 time this summer, one time with a long cable pushed from inside(long enough to get the end back inboard to make the loop), the second time with normal-lenght cable with already-made loop pushed from underwater. I used U-bolt cable clamp first time and it broke the cable(on a pretty hard grounding), I then used aluminium swage block and it seem to hold fine.

Thanks for the input,I have thought of trying to fix the cable myself,guess it will be worth a shot,unfortunately they say West Point Lake will probably not recover until next summer,so it looks like I am not doing anything anytime soon.

I had our cable break last winter at low tide. I was stuck in the mud for about 2 months until I dove down. No need for a diver, just pull the old cable up through with the new cable ductaped (one more use for ductape) to it.
I had it done in about 15 minutes. I was moving fast because the water was freaking cold