Centerboard of DOOM!

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Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby JonLee on Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:33 pm

OK, I've got a problem. The past few times I've been out, it has become increasingly difficult to get my centerboard to go up or down. n fact, I've had to resort to opening up the inspection hatches and using a combination of fingers, screwdrivers, and the handles of a pair of pliers to apply exxcessive forve to get the board down.

I've tried using a mirror to look down into the trunk to see what's going on, but I can't see the problem...or much of anything. I've also tried looking up from underneath, but most of the CB slot is covered up by the keel trough on the trailer.

Any thoughts?

I'd love to have the boat mgically suspended in the air so I could get the board down, inspect it, and if required, remove it. Sadly, the only incantation that I know that can make that happen goes "Magic marina, magic marina, my true and trusted friend, send forth your Travelift and my bank account balance thus end."

Other ideas, no matter how wild, are welcome.
JonLee
 
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby truenorth on Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:51 pm

Have you looked at renting 4 choppers to lift while you inspect the centerboard?

Otherwise, the way I've seen it done with small boats is to:

1) Park the boat and trailer on level ground.
2) Point the trailer tongue/bow part of the trailer towards the ground, if not on the ground.
3) Block up the transom. You can use cinderblocks, barrels, jacks, etc.
4) Raise the trailer tongue/bow as high as it can go.
5) Block the bow.
6) Lower the trailer tongue.
7) Work on the centerboard.

I found a page that may help:

http://www.auroramarine.com/aurora/deal ... raise.html

This is pretty much how my neighbor got to paint his boat. As an aside, as I've noted before, the centerboard worries me the most. Much stress, pressure, and run ins there. Good luck.
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby DanaDCole on Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:56 pm

Chopper idea looks best. :)

If you can't bring in choppers there is one thing I'm wondering about with the tilting and jacking method: It looks to me like the keel trough on the trailer might still be in the way unless you can raise the boat pretty high. The trailer has to stay under the jack, first of all for safety, but also because the temporary supports would not allow you to move it.

Also, there will have to be two supports at the transom, one on each side of the skeg. Perhaps a stout strap should be put around these two supports to keep them from spreading apart.

Another thought that occurs to me is to remove as much weight as possible from the boat, including all removable ballast. One thing I'm sure everyone will think of is adding carpet scraps where the supports meet the hull, and there should probably be wedges or shims placed under the boards on top of the cinder blocks to make them conform to the hull shape.

Anyway I'll be interested in knowing how well this works. I can think of lots of of reasons to get to the bottom of the boat--repairs, painting, and so on.
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby Bflat on Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:43 pm

Another way:

1. Put the boat in the water.
2. On empty trailer, temporarily replace the trough with one that doesn't block the center board slot.
3. Load boat back on to the trailer.
4. Crawl under and inspect.

Bob
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby JonLee on Mon Oct 28, 2013 11:16 pm

Dang...the cost for four helicopters is almost as high as a ride on the marina's Travelift.

I had actually tried a variation of the "truenorth trailer dance," but I couldn't get anywhere near enough clearance to get at the centerboard. I'd have to figure out how to get the trailer out from underneath, which I suppose is possible, though possibly completely scary.

Bob's suggestion actually struck me as a good one, until I took a look at the trailer and remembered how, ummm...vigorously...I attached the keel trough. I'm not sure there is a non-destructive way to get it off. I'll need to look at it some more.

Here's another one. I could beach the boat on an outgoing tide, wait for the tide to go out, lay her over on her side, do my thing, and hope that I could figure things out before the tide came back in. Actually, I had semi-seriously considered this, but the problem (just one?) is that if I chose to remove the centerboard, I could never reinstall it and have time for the epoxy to harden before the tide came back in. Unless I stranded the boat on a really high, high tide, the next high was much lower, and the next, next high was higher than the first....and I find a beach that nobody minds my being beached on for 36 hours, and I have a place to sleep, and the boat doesn't somehow inadvertently float away when I find I made a miscalculation.

Other thoughts, helpful or otherwise?
JonLee
 
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby Pascal on Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:54 am

Put your boat back on the cradle you use for building. This time reinforce the cradle with a 2 x 4 frame. Once the boat is on it raise it with car jack . As long as she stay upright it should be fine. I have been thinking about doing this with some help of course. Good luck.
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby DanaDCole on Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:29 am

OK, try this. Buy a couple of those steel ramps that are used to raise the front end of a car for oil changes. Go back to Truenorth's idea, but this time roll the trailer up onto the ramps first. You'll probably need a couple helpers to make sure the ramps don't slide backwards while you are trying to roll the trailer onto them. (Alternatively, you could use two bottle jacks to raise the rear of the trailer, then put it on jack stands.) Then lower the trailer tongue and put in your stands. Follow the steps to raise the front end. Then use the hydraulic bottle jack (you may have to put it up on blocks!) to raise the trailer enough so you can move the ramps out of the way. Lower the trailer to the ground.

By the way, did you check out the link Truenorth referenced? There they tell you to use a hydraulic bottle jack to raise the nose of the trailer as high as you can, possibly in stages (raise, block, elevate jack, raise, block, and so on) to get the tongue end pretty high. If not, try that, it may give you enough clearance.

Not a good idea to ever move the trailer out from under the boat--and don't get your body between boat and trailer (or as little of it as possible--e.g., arms but not head).

I hope this or some other method works. There has to be a workable solution.

If nothing else works invite the folks over who helped you get the boat onto the trailer in the first place. There has to be a safe way to get the boat back off the trailer. (Webbing straps under the boat with handholds?) Move it onto soft ground and you can tip it over to get at the trunk. I hope the first method works though, because that is going to be safest and best for repairs and painting. Please keep us apprised of your progress.
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby Bflat on Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:47 am

It's very likely that the Center Board will need no repair. Usually, a centerboard gets stuck because a piece of debris has wedged itself between the board and the case. It then kind of rolls or skids as the board is raised and lowered. Removing the debris is usually all that's needed. Of course, it's possible that a wedged stone could damage the board, but it's just as likely something soft like weeds or a stick just needs to be removed with no significant damage to the board.

If that's the case, then careening the boat on a beach at high tide may work. At the very least it would allow you to assess the situation better.


Bob
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby John C. Harris on Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:02 am

It's either a piece of sculch jamming the trunk, or water has found its way inside the fiberglass sheathing and swollen the wood.

My vote is for careening. Beach the boat, rig a tackle to the masthead, haul her over on the side.

OR...I guarantee that a persistent chain of inquiry will turn up someone, who knows someone, who has a forklift.

I've put CLC's forklift to good use for centerboard troubles, and volunteered it to a parade of pocket cruiser types over the years.

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My Montgomery 15's habit of jamming its centerboard is why PocketShip has two great big inspection ports in the centerboard trunk. I once had to cancel a trip and come home when the M15's board became hopelessly stuck.

You could drill a permanent hole in the bridge deck, finished off with a nice grommet, into which you could shove a thin metal rod from above to force the board down. That's what I ended up doing on the Montgomery.
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Re: Centerboard of DOOM!

Postby DanaDCole on Tue Oct 29, 2013 12:23 pm

I don't suppose there are any recommended lift points on the PocketShip. Probably a couple slings would be best.

For those of us with no tides or forklifts, I'm still hoping the trailer lift method might work. I'm also concerned about eventual re-painting and such. The low tide method would probably not work too well for that!
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