Swift 18 Owners

Hi all, Have managed to track down a source for the acme threaded rod and a bronze connector(BUSH) .The threaded rod is in s/steel, sizes from 20mm dia upwards in one mtr bars The bronze connectors are well oversized and need to be turned down . Both items seem ideal to repair or replace ,worn or stripped lifting gear.!! Will keep you posted. Need to check out pitch (turns per inch) Costs ,bush fixing/lathe work. to see if practical. Regards Mike

Hi Mike,

Moore International will supply 20mm stainless acme lead screw cut to length and also bronze bushes to fit.

Hi John, Tried Moor Int, they only supply (trappezoid cut ) rod/bar, the thread has a 30 degree radius at the base,best to have a straight cut wall on the thread ,better load bearing.! Have found a alternative supplier though.The main prob, is the bush /nut /saddle unit. Most of the lifting units have the thread stripped out of the top saddle unit, rather than the stripped winder rod. If the threaded rod has been stripped ONLY, then one can just replace the shaft. If the shoulder /saddle unit has been stripped, then you are well and truly buggered.! The back nuts/bushes./flange units that are made to fit the ACME theads, are in ... plastic, steel, s/steel, bronze . All need machine(lathe)work to be of any use.! To fit a bronze bush ,you have to remove so much wall thickness on the bush and the saddle that the unit would fail .!!!S/s to s/steel is not a good idea, as this would lock up under load, and the steel will rust.!!!My thoughts are a a s/s saddle (thick plate)with a hole machined in it to take a machined down bronze bush. If the unit fails, then you just replace the bush.!!!! Not the whole saddle unit. The bush being the weakest link as against the s/s shaft Regards Mike

Hi Mike
Why has nobody fitted a winch to wind up the keel
would it not be cheaper and better?

From another Mike

ps
Still looking for my Swift.

Hi,
I too would consider modifying the keel raising mechanism, it seems to be the Swifts Achilles heel... It would be advantageous when sailing solo to be able to raise/lower the keel from the cockpit. And if some way could be found to prevent the keel dropping back into the boat upon capsize, that would be a good safety feature. Any ideas anyone? I will look into it this winter when I get the boat home, she has spent the past year in a farmers shed near Lough Derg, I was too busy sailing other boats in Galway Bay to get a chance to try my Swift "Surprise" yet!
Sean

just read the e mails having returned from sunny Greece, I have fitted a modified winch rather than the winding gear. Would have been better mounted outside/inside the hatch doorway, rather than where the winder went,as the leverage is huge.! About one and a half ton I think. Best place for lifting would be at the foot of the keel ,and winder by the doorway, but this then makes more probs. Anyway mine works, so I am leaving it alone. Regards to all Mike in sunny Crete,sorry sunny Norfolk.!!

Hi, I finally got the boat home and had a chance to really look it over. First job was to replace some of the running rigging, then lift the mast with a new A frame I made and check everything was there (it was).
Then I turned my attention to the keel. I found it would not wind up fully into the keel box. The winding mechanism came up all the way, but the keel was still down 8inches at the stern, instead of three inches to match the bow end...!
I jacked the boat up off the trailer (boat and trailer first, then supported the boat seperately and dropped trailer away underneath) and as I suspected, two of the 3 small bolts attaching the lifting mechanism to the actual cast iron keel were gone... the final bolt ready to follow them.
So now I have to repair the Swifts Achilles Keel...! Fortunately I have the skills and tools to do so myself.
Sean

Hi Mike
Can you put a photo of your mod on site so we can all see what you have done.

Many thanks
Mike

Also in Norfolk

As I was beginning to find the keel lifting mechanism on my Swift18 increasingly difficult I gave the subject some thought and built a box on the rear end of my keel box. This acted as the base for a trailer winch which I bolted under the step with the drive shaft going through into the cockpit allowing me to adjust the keel from the cockpit. I used 5mm dineema cord attached to the rear end of the keel to raise and lower it. The box has to be high enough to take the strain and high enough to prevent water entering the cockpit. Sailing Poole Harbour with its many shallows is now much easier and lifting the keel from the rear end involves far less effort. I have also fitted a blanking plate and rod where the original lifting gear was originally fitted and this controls the depth of the keel when fully lowered. Hope I have given enough information to help you find a solution to Swift's keel lifting weakness. John Hainsworth.