PocketShip.net

Here's one possibility: http://www.portableboatlift.com . It uses the bow eye to lift the front of the boat--I don't know if i would want to try that on the PocketShip. This one http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=59042&familyName=JD+Boat+Lift+System+ looks much more feasible to me.

What ever happened with this stuck centerboard?

Still stuck. I haven't been able to dedicate much time to resolving it. Right now I have a new board under construction. I have the new board cut out an the lead poured, so still need to do the shaping, glassing, sand in routine, and then swap out the boards. We'll see...

Good luck! I have seen some posts that reported somewhat warped centerboards, causing them to get stuck--I'm sure you have seen them too. Unfortunately I did not see those posts until after mine was finished, and it does have a slight warp (about 1/8") so I hope it will not get stuck. Won't know until I turn the boat over.

What would worry me the most is that the problem is the centerboard trunk and not the centerboard. Let's hope the problem in the centerboard. Good luck!

Just spitballing here, but how hard would it be to get all the ballast and everything else you can out of the boat and have another "flipping" party? Get your friends to help you roll it most of the way over and secure it somehow so that you have access both to the bottom and the inside right there in your yard. Since you have the tabernacle installed, it seems to me it would rest on that instead of turning completely upside down. That way you could take your time and get it "worked out" at your leisure.

Jamestown distributors now offers two methods of lifting your boat off the trailer, a trailer-mounted lift, http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=98161&familyName=TotalBoat+Trailer-Mounted+Boat+Lift and a separate lifting system that allows you to remove the trailer altogether, http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=59042 . Both are fairly expensive, but could be well worth the money (unless some other vendor offers a cheaper alternative). The trailer-mounted lift may not get the boat high enough for fixing the "Centerboard of DOOM!," the separate lift would work for sure, though it is $300 more. Otherwise, for minor repairs and painting I think the trailer-mounted system would be ideal.

I think I've done it!

After interminable troubleshooting and a total lack of time to actually make progress, I finally think my centerboard problem is sorted.

As I had suspected, the root cause of the problem was that, in my rush to finish the boat, I sanded through the epoxy/fiberglass in the neighborhood of the centerboard slot and didn't reseal it. In time, water worked its way into the plywood. After consultation with John Harris, I decided to strip the paint in the area, apply liberal doses of epoxy to seal it, repaint, and replace the centerboard with a 1/2" one covered with two layers of 'glass.

I used the careen-at-the-dock procedure to get access to the board for installation and removal. For the resealing of the slot, I wash able to jack the boat up off the trailer far enough to gain access (no pictures of that). Got her back together, re-rigged, and in the water last night, and raised and lowered the board. Took her out for a brief test cruise, but the wind forgot to show up. Watching the weather intently for the next chance to go sailing.





HOOORAY!

Sounds great--I hope that will be the end of it. This has been a major concern of mine ever since I started thinking about 'glassing the hull bottom. That is, the fiberglass in the trunk ends right at the edge of the hull, and the hull glass ends at that same point. How do you make sure you have the interface there sealed properly while trying to avoid spilling epoxy down inside the trunk? I'm still not confident I got a complete seal. As far as I can figure there's really no way to know for sure until it's too late--only time will tell.

I'm really glad you fixed the issues! Congrats on getting back in the water. Am I understanding your post correctly: water leaked into the CB trunk side walls, causing them to swell, but the wood didn't shrink when dried out. Did you reseal the interior of the trunk as well, or was the problem just the keel bottom in that area? I wore away the fiberglass on that area on my boat, and am repairing that damage now. Thankfully my boat wasn't in the water long enough for the wood to swell and cause issues.

- Craig