Centerboard stuck below trailer cross bar

[Tomfoolery]

Loading the boat in the dark last night by myself, I forgot to pull the centerboard up all the way. I trailered home with it hanging down, scraping the road every once in a while, as witnessed by the little bit of a flat spot on what's usually the leading bottom corner.

So now it's stuck below the cross bar, and probably got there during the Mac bump, when it compressed the soft rubber vee-stop at the winch.

I guess the only way I'm going to get it back up all the way would be to drop the hanger, which would also be a good time to inspect/replace the centerboard line. Not the end of the world, as it'll force me to do what needs to be done anyway.

But the question I have is, has anyone ever put a small extension on the cross member, to prevent this in the future, or are there any reasons not to put a small pad there?

It's just touching the cover plate on the bottom flange of the channel in the pic above.

[Daniel]

We considered this issue when we added the 2nd axle and additional length and bunks to the trailer. Our solution was to fit a bolt on cross member to the side rail frames which were steel channel. I would provide pictures, but the trailer is at the lake.

[Seapup]

Looks lucky it was not a little lower

A heavy ratchet strap around the trailer will press up against the hull and catch the board in a pinch.

I moved my boat up about a foot on the trailer and have 75lb of lead in the keel I didn't want bouncing, so have been using a strap. Isn't pretty but works.

[seahouse]

Hey Tom --

I have an M with the daggerboard, and it comes factory-supplied simply with a cable (guess 5/32") that stretches across the trailer to catch an errant daggerboard, either upon loading a bit I guess, or after loading. Gives a bit of a "cushion" over something solid.

My thoughts (just thoughts, haven't gotten around to acting on them) were to put a 2 X 6 above or beside the cable nested inside the trailer frame to take the load from the up haul line (or the cable) during storage period. It could be attached permanently if needed.

I would guess that you would need a 2 X 10 or more to support the much heavier centreboard of an X.

-B.

[Tomfoolery]

Looks lucky it was not a little lower

Boy, you're not kidding. I didn't even see it until this morning when I went out front to get the paper. What a shock to see that centerboard hanging out the bottom, an inch or so above the pavement.

During normal trailering, the CB won't come down, as the bunks prevent that. But it was partially down when I loaded it (still OK), but when I did the bump, I suspect it went forward into the squishy foam vee cushion at the winch, along with the flex in the steel, to allow it to just slip past, as the line hadn't been taken up to prevent it. An extension platform just a few inches forward of the cross member is what I was thinking, just to prevent another similar bonehead move from causing damage again. Or a broken line. I don't even know if mine is cable to line (old-style), or replaced with all line (new style).

Time to find out.

And I agree - a simple strap, perhaps even the tie down strap I'm using now, could have prevented it from hitting the ground. Or at least I would have seen it, since I would have had to look under there to get the strap across. Even in the dark I think I would have seen that.

[Highlander]

Tom if u removed the rubber V block from the front of the trl @ the winch would that not give u a 2-3 " more room to pull the boat ahead more & then allow U to pull the center board up

J
PS Now that could have been a real mess if not noticed & u tried to lauch the boat

[Tomfoolery]

PS Now that could have been a real mess if not noticed & u tried to lauch the boat

Yeah, no danger of that now, since I know about it, but that's one of the worries going forward. That, and it hitting the ground on a long ride without me knowing about it.

[Harvey]

Almost the same situation happend to me a couple years ago, except that the cb didn't drag. With the cb pulled up, it still sticks out a little, and after a retrieve and 160 miles it somehow got ahead of the cross member and I couldn't push the boat off the trailer at launch. I pulled it back out, saw the problem, but couldn't move it with a heavy rubber hammer. I then put a jack under (with a pad to cushion the cb) and freed it. I did only a little bump on retrieve. At home, I bolted a 6 in. piece of 2X4 cross-wise in front of the X member to support the cb. No more trouble.

I probably could have floated the boat off by shoving the trailer much deeper, but I don't particularuly like wading to the winch, so I didn't think of that.

[Tomfoolery]

The obvious follow-on question is, should I even bother repairing that little bit that was sanded off? It's not exactly a racing boat, and I rather doubt I'd ever possibly notice it. Perhaps just fair it with a rasp, file, and sandpaper? I don't know what it's made of, but where the damage is it seems to be solid, though it feels light enough overall to be hollow.

[sunshinecoasting]

LOL The way I see it if the title is correct, the only way the rudder could be stuck below the trailer is if you put the boat on the trailer backwards. That looks much like a keel to me, the rudders are the flat looking doohickeys each side of your engine. Sorry, I couldnt resist.

[Tomfoolery]

I know - I do that all the time. I think keel, and write rudder. I don't know why, but I'm constantly correcting it as I write, and speak for that matter, though I don't know why I've got that mental short-circuit.

And it's actually a centerboard, since it's not part of the ballast system in any meaningful way.

[Wayne nicol]

if you can get it back to the water without damaging the cb any more- i would back the trailer in a bit further than normal, and as the boat floats- winch it forward, allowing the cb raising line to be loose- so that as the boat floats it doesnt damage the cb against the member. then when she has floated free and forward- , raise cb, and pull it out the water again
cheers

[Divecoz]

Deep Launch that boat and she should/might, float right over the axel(s)

[seahouse]

I know - I do that all the time. I think keel, and write rudder. I don't know why, but I'm constantly correcting it as I write, and speak for that matter, though I don't know why I've got that mental short-circuit.

And it's actually a centerboard, since it's not part of the ballast system in any meaningful way.

Funny thing - I followed this thread and didn't even notice the discrepancy until Sunshinecoasting pointed it out!

[Tomfoolery]

Well, it's fixed. Not hard to drop the hanger at all, but tricky to get it back up there. At least until I had the good sense to prop the centerboard on a concrete block that just happened to be the right height. After that it went right up there.

I'll add a small angle to the crossbar with a block of PT 2-by, just to catch it in case it decided to come down again. Or if the line breaks.

Oh, and yes, I replaced the line while I was at it, though the part that lives under water was actually in pretty good shape. But it had some wear patches, and I don't know how old it is, so it was a no-brainer to swap it out. I used a length of spinnaker sheet that I never use, which appeared to be the exact same line, and probably was since it was all supplied by MacGregor.

I just have to wait until it's in the water again to cut it, as I want it long enough to reach the helm so I can tie it to the guard as a reminder to pull it up as I load it onto the trailer. I usually do that without issue, even with it much shorter, but I could use the reminder so this doesn't happen again.