MacGregorSailors.com

Hi,

Can anyone help me resolve my problem. My centerboard will not release. Do I need to get the boat out of the water to fix the problem? Thanks for any help you could give me

You may be able to dive underwater with a mask and free it although getting it out of the water may be easier if its stuck real bad. Its probably jammed to the side. I had a big rock jam mine once. The only way to get it free was to put the boat on the trailer and pry the rock out. I just left the mast up, cleared the rock right on the ramp, and then put the boat back in the water.

I too experienced this nuisance problem, only on an intermittent basis, which seemed really wierd. Turned out I'd picked up a piece of driftwood in the centerboard trunk. It got jammed way up there by the board. Sometimes the board would stick and sometimes it worked fine. I did notice that it wouldn't retract all the way, when I pulled the boat onto the trailer. About an inch hung down. I wrongly attributed that to slack in the centerboard line. Could only remove with the boat out of the water, and it took a specially shaped pry to get it free.

As far as freeing it while the boat is in the water, I had to do that once, in very cold water. I stern tied close to shore over a nice sand beach. I put a face mask on and used a tapered stick, inserted into the hole in the end of the board, and was able to pry it free. This sounds easier than it was. I really needed a weight belt, since it's hard to hold position underwater without one. The hole in the end of the board may be exposed if the board is stuck, but if the cause is a rock alongside the board, and the board was pulled all the way up, that won't be the case.

It's probably a good idea to make sure the board is loose and free while the boat is on the trailer, before launching. I don't always think to do it, but when it sticks again, I'll wish I had.

Slightly off topic but still on CB's. The tip of my ctr bd is showing bare fiber glass from the couple of times it's dragged bottom. I was going to apply gel coat 1 day & discovered I couldn't get it down due to the trailer frame cross-members.

1. Any tips on lowering CB out of water (short of hanging boat on a sling tied to overhaed crane)?
2. How quickly will the fiber glass deteriorate if I don't fix w/ gel coat soon?

thanks

I blocked the wheels, and grabbed a couple of 2x12 on a 3 ton vehicle jack to lift the rear end off the trailer 4" which was enough to remove the board.

I'll try that, thanks. No gel coat or fiberglass cracking due to stress concentration?

nope,

The v of the front bunk takes most of the load, but should be less than 600 -700 lbs and very reinforced right there, and I lift right on the edge of the transom, and block outboard from that.....

With my 2001 X on its trailer, I have removed the CB a couple of times, for bottom painting, simply by releasing the nut atop the CB trunk, uncleating the CB line and, under the boat , shifting the CB lengthwise a bit off the trailer crossmember, and lowering the CB to the ground. Ron

Hi amgrip

Unfortunately I had the same problem just this past summer. Luckily it resolved itself, but only after repeatedly motoring at high speed, then low speed and vigorously cranking the wheel port to s'board. After about 30 min of this routine I discovered bit by bit the CB loosened itself inch by inch, and eventually the problem disappeared. I know it wasn't barnacle buildup, as 2 weeks later when pulling the boat, the trunk for the CB was as clean as a whistle.

Good luck,

Ron

As for the question about how long you could put off leaving some "skinned" fiberglas showing on the leading edge bottom of the CB: Answer: 87 years +/-.

Long answer - there is nothing to hurt there.