PSA Catalina 25 C/B cable

[MacGyver]

A news bulletin came across my "desk" the other day at work. Seems that a gentlemen sold his Catalina 25 Swing keel boat to a new couple, and the boat sank soon after.
The guy checked his Centerboard cable yearly, and never saw issue.
The new couple, buying the boat bought it because of this mans nature of taking great care of the boat the way the story read. The PO notes how the cable never looked to have any rust, or issues at the swages, etc.

To the story: The boat was placed on a mooring, and what appears to have happened is the CB cable broke, during tidal flux? and dropped the CB which caused it to bang around in its housing causing a crack to form, subsequently sinking the boat.

I am writing this here, because when it came to me reading it my co workers had already formed the opinion that it was "possible to happen and we needed to warn everyone else in the harbor with those boats" kind of mentality.

I am not saying I am where the buck stops, but here is my stance. I dont purchase boats myself with C/Bs, working parts underwater, etc because of construction reasons. I am not saying others shouldnt, because there are plenty of boats out there that have no issues. It could have been just that boat that maybe that guy sailed it hard and had a fracture deep in the structure or a defect from manufacturing, etc.

Boat makers typically hire people who are not qualified for much of anything. They are shown how to do a job, and that is what they do. Just the same as manufactured house building, those folks aren't carpenters..... They are shown how to use a overpowered staple gun and how to unload them as fast as possible. Tim the Toolman's grunt comes to mind here.

My reason for posting this wasn't to knock peoples work, or bash CBs or construction methods, but to let people know, you cannot necessarily tell the quality of workmanship and that just because something looks fine, there can be a issue you dont see. There are structures at play in everything we own, and AGE is a factor we all tend to forget, ESPECIALLY on the under water "working" items on our boats.
Just as we do not last forever, neither can we expect our items to last forever.

Be safe with your equipment, and be vigilant. At the same time, have a healthy fear of what you have so that when it fails you, you will remain as calm as you can and be a strong point in the rescue effort.

My stance has always been, the fewer working parts, the better, and that applies to any item.

Be safe friends, and If you have friends with Catalina 22s, 25s, with C/Bs, swing keels, please pass along the scenario, and note to them that Catalina recommends cable replacement every 2 years. As does Hunter on their cables. No one ever does it, but by passing that knowledge along, it is up to them then to do with it what they wish.

Mac

[capt_nemo]

I sailed a Catalina 25 swing keel  sailboat for several years on the Chesapeake and was religious about checking and maintaining the lifting winch and cable. Eventually replaced the stainless cable due to wear.

AND, in order to eliminate what I thought was excessive sideways "play" (movement) of the heavy piece of iron (you could hear it), most noticeable in the down position, I dropped the keel down out of the boat to rebore the worn pivot hole and added a new bushing for the pivot pin.

If space is available on the sides of the pivot pin consider adding large nylon washers on both sides evenly, to keep the "board" centered. Some folks even add thin rubber-like bumpers inside the trunk sides to prevent sideways movement when in the UP position.

For the Catalina 25 and ANY OTHER TRAILERABLE SAILBOAT, remember to release the tension on the cable once the boat is on the trailer to let the swing keel or centerboard "rest" on a supporting board. Failure to do so risks a "sawing" action on the cable UNDER TENSION if it rubs against anything as the boat and trailer bounces down the road, which can lead to early failure. Remember to always tighten the cable before launching to avoid problems.

Just the voice of DIY experience talking.

capt_nemo