Tom I just logged on to this form but it sounds like you are having the same problem as me (M-15). My centerboard is stuck and I am in the process of trying to get it down. So far I have repositioned the boat on the trailer to clear the center board and my plan is to slip a loop of plumbers tape (sheet metal) over the center board in a loop and pull it down either by hand or by prying against a 4x4 that I clamped across the trailer frame.
I will let you know if it works or not. Bring me up to speed about your situation. Jim Sadler -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] sion.com]On Behalf Of Bob Olson Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 3:14 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: Re: M_Boats: Centerboard treatment Tom, I rebuilt my centerboard last summer so I thought I'd weigh in on your dilema. The centerboard weighs about eighty pounds. There's a steel plate embedded inside of it. If water intrudes--say, along the leading edge where it might have banged on the trailer, then in theory, it could swell up and cause your sticking problem. You might check the leading edge and see if it has split open. Mine had, so I proceeded to refinish it. Although, mine wasn't stuck, and in fact had plenty of slop. I used two flatbed truck ratchet straps to lift my boat off the trailer. I affixed them to two beams in my garage (wish I had taken pictures). Not something I would want to do alone. Once the boat was above the trailer, I used sawhorses and log rounds to stabilize it, and for insurance should the straps give way. With my neighbor ready to catch my centerboard, I undid the knot on the centerboard rope. Unfortunately, my neighbor spaced out, and the board dropped to the ground breaking the swivel point. Not a problem since I had so much epoxy work to do anyway. If you could find a sling hoist in your neighborhood, I'd see if I could convince them to raise your boat long enough to extract your board. I would think you could leverage it out with a crowbar. In my area (washington) there's a hoist at our local marina. Costs $25 bucks to launch. If they weren't busy, I'm sure I could convince them to give me 10 minutes to get the board out. Good luck with your project, sounds like you're having to do what I did last spring. Which is to fix all the problems that had been neglected over the years. I also had to fix two areas where the balsa core was wet and rotten--under the mast step, and at the bow cleat. But, there is satisfaction on the other end. Be careful out there, Bob Olson M-15 Sequel On Nov 3, 2005, at 10:42 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Bob: > > Thanks. I had not thought of that. The halyard is about a 3/8th dia > yacht line and fits very snuggly in its hole. I can't get the keel to > move at all. I tried jacking the boat up off the trailer but too > risky without proper equipment. Trailer is the original and keel > rests on the rollers. I agree that it may have been recovered at one > time and hit the first roller and punched the keel up into the recess. > That's one guess. Do you know how much the keel weighs? I was told > 50 and 200 lbs. If it is light, I might take the halyard out > completely and then I will secure it to the keel (if I get it down). > > You mention the trailer, I was wondering if I should reconfigure to > put rollers on either side of the keel so it essentially is not > resting on anything. > > Have lots of cosmetic work to do on her but, so far, everything is > minor. > > Where do you sail? > > Tom > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats > _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
