off keel

prepositional phrase2

1. •
   Out of balance, tilting to one side. (of a watercraft, etc.)

   • The tide was full and the dingey was off keel. The punt nosed the pebbly slope like a terrier, but her stern swung clear. — 1896
2. •
   (figurative) Out of control, not proceeding or running smoothly.

   • The lower half of a duplex apartment on a shabby Montreal street, dark as limbo, jerry-built fifty years ago and going off keel ever since. — 1960