Bob: Thanks. I had not thought of that. The halyard is about a 3/8th dia yacht line and fits very snuggly in its hole. I can't get the keel to move at all. I tried jacking the boat up off the trailer but too risky without proper equipment. Trailer is the original and keel rests on the rollers. I agree that it may have been recovered at one time and hit the first roller and punched the keel up into the recess. That's one guess. Do you know how much the keel weighs? I was told 50 and 200 lbs. If it is light, I might take the halyard out completely and then I will secure it to the keel (if I get it down). You mention the trailer, I was wondering if I should reconfigure to put rollers on either side of the keel so it essentially is not resting on anything. Have lots of cosmetic work to do on her but, so far, everything is minor. Where do you sail? Tom