If the problem were as severe as you fear, he wouldn't have gotten the boat onto the trailer. The centerboard slot is encased in ballast ... If the board were swollen enough from corrosion that it wouldn't go back into its slot, it would have 12" of ballast-encased stub-keel to force its way through before reaching vulnerable centerboard trunk ... What I'm saying is, a board swollen enough to damage the trunk wouldn't enter the trunk - couldn't be forced past the ballast-encased slot by merely driving the boat back onto the trailer ... You will have expense if you pay someone to refurbish the board, but you shouldn't have to worry about stub-keel, centerboard-slot, or hull damage ... If you're a DIY'er, the M-List resources have a wealth of centerboard advice ...
----- Original Message ----- From: Brian Gilbert To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 2:08 PM Subject: Forcing a centerboard into the keel Hi Folks: OK, here's the story: I'm driving down to look at a Monty 17 this Thursday. 1979 model- The boat looks good from the photos, and sounds good from the description, except for one disturbing detail. She sat in the water for three years, and when the current owner went to get the boat out of the water, the center board wouldn't retract. So he forced the centerboard into the slot by driving the boat onto the trailer. I'm concerned that I'm facing a huge amount of work getting this keel unstuck, or in the worst case, the centerboard may have cracked or split the trunk. The current owner thinks this is a minor problem caused by weeds/slime/misc growth on the canterboard. He might be right, but if it's stuck for another reason... like corrosion... this'll be a huge and expensive repair. Were the 1979 keels cast iron? Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Thanks very much BG -- Brian Gilbert Marine Media Author, "Fix It And Sail" (423)876-9990 3404 Hartford Drive Chattanooga, TN 37415 www.sailingsmall.com _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
