I have just sailed SV Roma from Mooloolaba to Melbourne and have found the keel when fully dropped "bangs" from side to side with the rolling of the boat. Could the blade be worn or maybe the lugs it's sits on when down have hard growth which stop a solid contact? Has anyone experienced/solved this problem - I would like to hear from you.
cheers
John, owners of smaller yachts with swing keels shim the sides of the keel box with laminex cut with a slot to clear the bolt.
I am not sure how they retain the sheet, perhaps with some contact adhesive.
The keel bolt and hole are meant to be a loose fit.
Also some owners of smaller swing keel yachts pull the keel back on the cable a bit to keep some weight on the winch and cable. This puts a bit more weight on the pin. Not sure whether yours has a cable or hydraulics but pumping the keel up to keep load on the lifting bits helps reduce some noises.
A bit of hydraulic pressure on the hydraulics also helps to stop water getting into the ram if the ram is close to the water.
John.
When the keel on the 34 is fully lowered it is in contact with the outer keel top and bottom,metal to metal, and will make more noise, and have more movement because of the shorter bearing distance. If you raise the keel say 10cm you will find the movement and noise reduced.
See " The complete RL story " Episode 11 for a drawing and a better understanding of your keel
One of the things that I've done on other swing boards is to have a new bearing and pin made for the centre board.
This may help take out some of the slop in the board ware the pin goes though. The other thing is if the pin is a bolt then try doing it up a bit as well.
