I just got my M-17 back from the boat shop, and I thought I'd report on what may be an innovative approach to fixing a sticky centerboard. I bought the boat, an '83 model, last fall and found that the centerboard was snug against one side of the centerboard trunk and would drop only reluctantly (and with plenty of WD-40 sprayed down the pennant hole).
The shop hoisted the boat and was able to drop the board OK, but I asked them to do what it took to keep the board from hanging up anymore. First they drilled several viewing holes in the trunk's gel coat to assess whether the iron shot ballast was rusting and contributing to the problem -- and no rust was found. With no apparent need to excavate and replace the ballast, the shop decided to widen the trunk opening slightly to eliminate the rubbing. To do that, they created a plywood duplicate of the centerboard, covered it with sandpaper, installed it in the trunk and carefully moved it up and down to create more clearance for the board. To ensure that water won't penetrate the sanded area -- creating a rust problem where there probably was none before -- the shop used a slim radiator paint roller to apply a thin coat of epoxy on the trunk's interior surfaces. They also sealed the gap between hull and board trunk at the bottom of the keel. Even though the boat's centerboard looked in good shape (it had been pulled, faired and epoxy coated previously), we sanded, faired and recoated the board. With spring finally springing in Milwaukee, I'm eagerly looking forward to launching my new boat and seeing how everything works. Gordon M-17 #377 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
