371 Centre board / lifting keel issues

Hi Corvander,

Forum member, Arcadia sent through a link to your project which is a fantastic achievement.

We are in the process of buying a Hanse 312 with lifting centre plate/ keel.  The boat survey identified the need to investigate/ refurbish the centre plate including replacing the pin and nylon guide blocks.  Although the 312 is a smaller boat and the lifting mechanism seems to be different, we would be very grateful for some advice from your project:

·         1.  The pivot pin looks counter-sunk into the keel housing.  What retained it and was it easy to remove?  Were there bushes fitted which could be replaced and were you able to separate from the nylon guide disc? 

·         2. The surveyor believes there are nylon anti-vibration pads inside the keel box housing which guide and help stop movement when the centre plate/ keel is in the lift position inside the box?  Were there any nylon pads/ blocks and how were they retained?

·         3. The 312 uses a simple line and pully mechanism to lift the keel by a winch on the coach roof.  We have seen some cracking of the coach roof where the line penetrates the deck vertically from the keel lift point.  Did you have to replace any of the lifting arrangement or strengthen the deck structure?

We hope to source a spare pin, bush and nylon blocks from Hanse, but it looks like you had an excellent machinist to make you a whole new keel and pin arrangement.

Any information would be most helpful.  I hope you now have the boat in the water and the keel being put to good use!

Regards,

John