I had the same problem with my cast iron keel. I solved the problem by removing the winch and having a machine shop re knurl the surface. It was slick as glass to start with. I also put on four turns of the lifting pennant. the combination of these two items fixed my problem. It now takes about five or six turns to get the keel up. I also had considered installing a winch from Catalina Direct. It uses a wire pennant, and a modified mechanism which raises or lowers the keel on a positive (live?) drum arrangement. Crank it one way and down you go, crank the other way and up it comes. Cost a few years ago was about $90 so I didn't do it. Leif Eriksson. M17 #734 "Corky" On Sep 29, 2010, at 12:40:38 PM, "p. d. buharin" <buharin@msn.com> wrote: From: "p. d. buharin" <buharin@msn.com> Subject: M_Boats: Early M17 Cast Iron Centerboard Question Date: September 29, 2010 12:40:38 PM EDT To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com I have a '74 M-17 with a cast iron swing keel. I have not seen much conversation about the early swing keel. Cranking the CB up and down I lost count at 120+ revolutions of the crank. This is a bear on the way back to the dock. Has anyone made any modifications to an early boat to make the process of cranking the CB up and down more efficient? Sailing the boat is a joy except for this chore. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats Remember, there is no privacy on the Internet!