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PrairieMoon wrote: ↑Mon Nov 24, 2025 8:33 am I didn't see this possibility mentioned: On most 26S, the centerboard lift line comes up through a tube, around a block and through a metal stop before it proceeds forward, around another block, then aft to the hole out into the cabin. (Yeesh.) In the water, the centerboard can actually swing forward beyond perpendicular, and this stop was added to prevent that. From your description I deduce your line has been replaced before. If it wasn't done properly, you might have a knot or connection hitting the stop on the back side, preventing the line from passing even though the centerboard is free to continue. Pull the raising line until it stops, then stick your head under the sink and look up. If that's the problem, you'll see it.

Thanks Moon,

I did not have a knot it the rigging I replaced, nor did I add one when replacing the line either time. No worries there.

The setup I found on this new-to-me 26S was much simpler. It comes up thru the tube in the floor over one pulley to the exit hole.

PrairieMoon wrote: ↑Mon Nov 24, 2025 8:37 am Regarding the trailer's crossbar under the centerboard, it's a boat-saver. I read recently that many sailors release the raised centerboard so it can rest on the crossbeam once the boat is on the trailer. When you think of the leverage the heavy centerboard has on that lift line as it bounces down the road, that strategy makes sense to me, so I'll try it this season. I wrapped a thick pad of carpet around the bar to cushion the centerboard. Just gotta remember to raise the centerboard all the way up before launching...

I had a similar though... In case the line breaks, you don't destroy the cb dragging it down the road. I haven't yet figured out how I am going to attach something softer for the cb to rest on, but its on my list.

LakeMac26C wrote: ↑Tue Nov 25, 2025 7:02 pm I also have a 26C and I also have this problem. Mine has access to the centerboard pin from the bottom of the boat though. I have also added a thicc layer of rubber matting to the upgraded centerboard catch bar on the trailer. The CB now rests permanently on this rubber mat, hitting every damn bounce in the road. My CB seems to be a bit hollowed out (next years project IF i dont sell the rig next spring). I also replaced the stock metal wire/rope combo by drilling out (from underwater...LONG story) the epoxied combo out of the CB and attaching a simple rope and bowline knot. I also replaced the pulleys under the galley basin which helped.

All in all, Im 90% sure my problem is a combo of the thick rope knot hitting the CB trunk (mine narrows mercilessly near the top of the trunk), the pivot hole providing some jambing/misalignment, and something fouling the CB trunk like barnacles or other flaura.

I have NOT had the boat up on bunks like you have done because i didnt want to die by my cursed boat crushing me. It looks like you did yours safely and smartly in a good location. I dont have those tools/options so I kinda gave up.

TL:DR, check for fouling and make sure your rope and knot are thin enough as to not hit the trunk, esp when swollen with hydro. If you figure it out, tell me first. It may be the reason I ended selling mine.

Congrats on the newborn! My young son generally likes the boat and we have had some fun times on the water.

Hey LakeMac,

I have read quite a few of your postings in my search of information on this issue and several others. You are very effective at getting information thru. I especially enjoyed that underwater drill you made!!!

My cb is also hollow. It appears to to have holes in it for filling w water and for draining. From my readings here, that seems to be by design.

As my knot securing the cb is inside the hollow cavity of the cb (see previous picture I posted of this), I am sure that is not the case for me. I could raise and lower the cb from underneath without any issues or bindings, confirming for me that there is not an obstruction, also confirmed by taking the whole thing out of the boat a billion times.

The fiberglass tube thru the bottom of my boat is probably 2 inches. My line is 1/4th. There is plenty of room. As the cb does have play in it and the line may ride against the tube depending on how the boat lies. This appears to have zero impact. Even if there were a knot or two in my 1/4 inch rope, or a connection point like the original metal wire to sta set doublebraide rope, it would have little impact due to the size difference in the pipe and line.

Conclusion: all work and research on this has lead me to believe this; there is a flaw in the assumption made that most people would have the ability to raise the cb by hand with a 1/4 inch line, a 1:1 ratio, resulting in 83lbs of force needed, in the space and the angles provided. This is not the case for me; it is certainly not the case for my wife or kids.

Fix: A modification of some is needed. Some people run it thru the deck to a 2:1 purchase then to the jib sheet winch. The thought of putting a hole thru the deck and routing a line thru blocks and pulleys to the jib sheet winch sounds like a nightmare, so I just added a winch in place of the existing cb line cleat. Cheaper, more simple, quicker, no holes in my deck.

PrairieMoon wrote: ↑Mon Nov 24, 2025 8:33 am

Just looked at this again while re-reading thru the thread... I have a question:

Where is that line headed after it goes thru the pulley we see here... It appears that it is headed away from you towards the front of the boat? Can you take a picture or two of the routing?

Ill have to try to get under the boat again and push the CB up by hand to see if it moves freely. When i replaced the CB line and pulleys, I also removed the metal stop bracket as there was no longer a metal wire grommet to use. This made the rope run a lot more freely.

The picture from the previous post is looking up from under the basin cabinet. That black tube is the CB line guide and the metal bracket is the stopper i mentioned i removed. After that, the CB line travels to starboard to the other pulley/fairlead and out into the cabin.

If all my hardware is in good shape, i might buy a 2:1 of some kind to assist with the CB uphaul. Maybe thats all I need afterall.

I dont have access to the boat off the trailer, but this is my CB resting on the trailer axle which I covered with rubber. I pull as hard as I can on the CB rope in the cabin, but i cant get it any higher than this. When I raise the CB from below, it goes up with ease almost all the way until the last inch or so. Thats when I hear a little squeak and feel the knot in the rope hitting the CB trunk. Still, I cannot get the CB even up to that height by simply pulling on the CB line in the cabin. Strange.

Hey LakeMac,

Sorry its been so long since my last response. Life!

Im a little less than middle aged, overweight deck jockey. I could not get my centerboard as high as yours, so you must be doing something right in the strength deparment.

The squeak you are getting when you push your centerboard up by hand may be the centerboard line getting caught. I had mine removed when I checked for clearence, to make sure I knew there as nothing catching.

If the geometry calculations are correct (which a couple people on here have checked) and the fact that many people run a 2:1 or 3:1 pulley system, it appears logical to me that this is not something easily done by hand (without pulleys or some other mechanical advantage).

Conclusion.... its not us. Its not a catch. Its just not the best design.

I just saw this post.

I have a 26S and have removd my CB and replaced the pivot bolt which is accessible only through the ballast tank (on my boat - an experiment MacGrgor apparently did). The bolt is normally accessible on both sides of the CB from under the boat.

I also have replaced the control line/cable that raises the CB.

I did the pivot bolt and line replacement around 2015 or 2016 and documented the process with pictures and PDF narrative I believe somewhre on this forum.

The line comes up through the CB trunk entering the cabin through a fiberglass volcano tube and passes through a short piece (maybe 8 inch) of 1 inch dia Tygon tubing secured using stainless hose clamps before passing through a turning block mounted on the underside of the galley counter with. a stoppr lug bolted to the cable. At this turning block the turning block orients the control line toward the starboard side of the galley counter where it passes through another turning block coming through a hole in the galley front to a horn cleat just above the bench.

When I replaced my line, I found the two turning blocks (originally installed) has sheaves that did not readily turn without a good bit of friction. I believe they had enough corrosion and slightly bent sheave axles that caused them to not turn freely. I replaced them so they would run free.

My control line is 1/2 inch New England Yacht double braid line (Sta-Set). I routed my control line up to the ceiling through another turning block and out through a hole in the companion way bulkhead to a new horn cleat completely accessible from the cockpit.

I also bolted a 18 x 6 inch piece of plastic deck board covered with bunk cloth as a resting place for the centerboard on the trailer axle. I let the centerboard simply rest on the axle board when I trailer the boat leaving tension on the control line.

While the force required to raise the CB is around +/- 83 lbs, when the boat is in the water that force is somewhat offset by buoyancy and is much less than an 80 lb pull. Even with all the turning blocks, at 70 years old I have no trouble raising or lowering my CB without use of any winch or other block and tackle leverage - only the single 1/2 inch double braid line. And, I believe my wife could do it as well and she isn't very strong.

I would be very wary that a winch could cause damage if excessive tension were applied if some blockage were to occur below the water line, inside the trunk, or elsewhere on the control line.

Yes I am an engineer also; retired.

Regards to all.

Good Thoughts Mccneo,

Bouyance isn't something we've talked a lot about yet, but a couple other threads have mentioned it. We sure didn't take that into consideration when we were running the calculations.

That would explain why I was able to get it much higher in the water than I could once I got it home and on the blocks.

Provides some great thoughts to experiment with while on the water this coming up spring.

Its funny because when I bought the boat, I dont remember having an issue raising the CB all the way. Maybe i was just unaware of the issue. Then my CB wire rope snapped. I replaced it with rope and replaced some of the pulleys under the cabin basin. Again, maybe its ignorance of how it used to work, but now I cant get the CB up all the way. This is especially bad when launching from the trailer in a shallow slope ramp and the CB could strike the trailer. Replacing the bushings/bore of the CB is my next project. Maybe that will help. Otherwise, Ill look into adding some kind of pulley system.

LakeMac26C wrote: ↑Fri Jan 30, 2026 9:59 am Its funny because when I bought the boat, I dont remember having an issue raising the CB all the way. Maybe i was just unaware of the issue. Then my CB wire rope snapped. I replaced it with rope and replaced some of the pulleys under the cabin basin. Again, maybe its ignorance of how it used to work, but now I cant get the CB up all the way. This is especially bad when launching from the trailer in a shallow slope ramp and the CB could strike the trailer. Replacing the bushings/bore of the CB is my next project. Maybe that will help. Otherwise, Ill look into adding some kind of pulley system.

Unloading and loading were also my two biggest concerns. Next was the ability of the system to hold itself off the road (or off the axle).

Again, so many people going with 2:1 or 3:1 systems and/or routing to a jib winch.... systems that are much more complicated and require drilling thru the deck, instead of going off of human power. And if there were an issue with the system (pullies, rubbing, friction somewhere) someone would have posted with pictures of the wear on the the rope/line/wire and identified the problem areas. But thats not the case: the solution is always a force multiplier.

I myself started down this journey when I attempted to remove the trailer from the boat and realized the cb was resting on the trailer axle. This was after coming from the boat ramp a couple weeks before when I had hauled it up by hand in the water... So even then while it was in the water, I couldnt get it halled up enough to keep it off the axle.

I am much more confident now after adding the trailer winch to the system. During testing (while off the trailer, on blocks in a controlled environment, and without the aid of bouyance of the materials) I was able to get the cb the rest of the way up. There is a note of concern here, atleast until Im more familiar with the system: I was able to clearly feel when the cb was all the way up, but here is a risk of over tightening as the winch is overkill. Its listed as a 600lb winch; I couldn't find a smaller one. amazon.com/dp/B0749GHCKH

Hi JamesToBoot!

If you want to “de-power” your winch shorten the handle…. This decreases the leverage advantage…

Just a thought….

Best Regards,
Over Easy

OverEasy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 1:14 am ...
If you want to “de-power” your winch shorten the handle…. This decreases the leverage advantage…
...

I actually delete that portion of my previous post for readability.

Im contemplating using a 3/8ths wrench & socket in order to reduce the forces on the winch and increase the 'feel' of the stopping point.

As Ive only used the winch twice (before my injury and surgery), I haven't had much practice with it. But Im thinking that I will get used to 'feeling' the stopping point so I don't over do-it.

Time will tell.