Swan 48 keel removal

We have a 1972 Swan 48 and need to drop the keel, has anyone carried out this task before, we note that we cannot get clear access to the keel bolts, we have removed the grp gel from the keel bolts but note that there are not any access holes to fit a socket to undo the nuts.

Do we have to remove the mast support fabrication to under the keel bolts?

Thanks for any advice.

mast support over the keel bolts

Keel bolts

Dear Jonty,

yes, to drop the keel you should remove mast step, not sure about the 48, hope Martin could help.

As far as I remember in your case Mast Step should be new, isn't it?

matteo (47/069 Vanessa)

Dear Jonty,

yes, to drop the keel you should remove mast step, not sure about the 48, hope Martin could help.

As far as I remember in your case Mast Step should be new, isn't it?

matteo (47/069 Vanessa)

Hi, thanks for the reply, yes the keel base support fabrication is not original and in very good condition, belive you are right about having to remove the keel support in order to get to the keel bolts.

Has anyone else carried out this job?

Regards

Dear Jonty,

on our S&S Swan it is not at all a difficult job, the hull is so strong (not being built in infusion and with sandwitch as modern boats are) the only problem would be to detach the original sealant, but it's just a question of working very patiently.

There are two reliable specialist on "selected shipyard" on our website who worked on many S&S Swan, but they are based in the Med, I imagine Sleeper is  on the other side of the pond.

Fair winds,

matteo (47/069 Vanessa)

PS why should you drop the keel (if you prefer to answer privately please send message to ms@classicswan.org)?

Dear Jonty,

when we repaired (i.e., partly replaced) the mast support on our 1974 Swan 48, we did not need to drop the keel, but I think I can help all the same.

In our boat, all of the keel bolt nuts were glassed in; I think you found the same situation on Sleeper. They look like the one in the first picture (old steel frame section) that also shows the state of our mast support when we decided to replace. If I recall correctly, the nuts can be freed without removing the step.

To undo the nuts, it would be possible to remove only part of the support base, just enough to be able to fit the tool (see pic "steel frame base plate"). In our case, it is a new part -- but the important thing is it sits on top of a 10mm steel plate (glassed in). We did not touch that one, simply bolted the new part into the old plate below. You can see two of the bolts we used. As long as that steel part is untouched, you should be fine.

The last picture (steel backbone) shows the new mast support (forward part of the boat / upper part of pic) and a part of the original steel frame (sloping aft). Note the holes! They are original ... I believe it would be possible to drill holes exactly above the keel bolts, so an extension to the tool can be led through, allowing for a much greater lever.

I have more pictures (and recollections) so if you need further thoughts, let me know.
One caveat: Sleeper, I think, is considerably lighter than the regular 48. The "lost" weight must have been taken somewhere out of the boat, so I cannot guarantee that you have the steel plate inlay below the support frame. Just a thought.

Best regards,

Martin (Vellamo, 48/039)

Old steel frame section

Steel frame base plate

Steel backbone