Thanks for the advice.

You are both right that we will have to figure out a way to drop the
keel at least some to get to the cable connection. I was just trying
to figure out how far it might have to be dropped. If the attachment
is on the aft/lower end of the keel, we might not have to do much more
than lift the stern a little. If the attachment is at the aft/upper
end, we may have to take the suggestion of completely removing the
keel by disconnecting the pivot. I would really like to avoid that
since the keel is so heavy, but may have to is there is no other way
to get up inside the well.

One of the constraints for us is the lack of any hoist in our area.
What would you think of this "crazy" idea? Since the SJ 21 is a
relatively light boat with most of the weight in the keel, carefully
slide the boat off the back of the trailer onto grass. Then roll the
boat over on its side and pull the keel out to work on it (without
disconnecting at the pivot). The boat on the trailer is only about a
foot off of the ground. It might not take too much to raise it just a
little to get it off and then back on the trailer.

Lee Huddleston