Hi Andrew
The keels often represent the biggest concern to prospective and current owners.
In practice
– the whole design / mechanisn is much more robust and tolerant that we might think at first
– the AOA have technical papers and members with enormous experience to help you
If you are thinking of buying an Atalanta I would strongly recommend becoming a member and getting access to the extensive archive of technical papers and Bulletin articles. Specifically there is an excellent technical paper about maintenance of the keels and their mechanisms. We will do our best to support anyone interested in an Atalanta. And spending £20 in getting access to the AOA archive and membership is a perhaps the best way to help yourself.
Cheers
Nick
Webmaster