At 8:59 PM +0000 4/5/02, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >Well, I finally got the thing off the trailer and up on >stands and one of my WORST FEARS HAS BEEN REALIZED. > >The centerboard will not drop down -- it seems to be >frozen up in the centerboard trunk. I have tried >banging on it with a rubber mallet a little bit, I tried >some selected curses that sometimes work, but no luck >whatsoever. > >Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and >if there are any great tips for getting the thing out. > >I'm afraid to try prying too much for fear of cracking >the fiberglass around the slot. > >I'm considering cutting a hole in the top of the >centerboard trunk, that I can push a rod down through. > >Any suggestions or commiserations welcome.
If I were in your shoes, I would get some carpet (or other non- marring material and a rubber hammer... the crud that is in there holding it up is dry, and by gently tapping on the keel and centerboard trunk around the centerboard you can set up some vibration and get some crud to fall out of there. I'd put some newspaper underneath to keep track of whether this was doing any good... it might take a long time. Then I'd empty a couple of cans of WD-40 down the pennant hole and from whatever you can reach underneath, let it sit a day or so, and resume the tapping. And remember that fiberglass is a lot stronger than it looks... if you were to pry gently from the end of the slot (where the board tip drops), not the sides, I don't see how any damage could be done. And that is exactly where the leverage needs to be applied. I've never seen this part of my boat from a fish eye view, but I'll bet there's enough room to insert a medium screwdriver and nudge the end of it downward a little. I would repeat this cycle of steps until it dropped. As a last resort, I would dump a whole bottle of "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner (hydrochloric acid) down the pennant hole, say goodbye to the rope, wait till it stopped smoking, and pound some more. The acid is safe; I clean my hull with it. Sooner or later it will drop; perseverance will prevail. I don't think I would cut any holes in anything till I'd spent about a week doing the above (as time to soak is as important as effort), and even then, I'd think twice. Tapping dry will break and crumble the crap; so I'd try that for awhile. After you apply any liquid, you start re- hydrating and lubricating what ever is in there. And the (relatively) weak acid will eat everything that's not metal or fiberglass. These are all effective strategies. Good Luck... -- Cal Spooner M15 #402 [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] 763.574.1482 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
