I was able to easily remove the centerboard on my M15 and seal the trunk while on the trailer, but it wasn't swollen. I jacked up the trailer a few feet and set the frame on cinder blocks, and then removed the axle which was centered under the centerboard and keel. This opened up enough room to work easily, but I was lucky that my trailer has no cross-beams under the keel. I did this all in the front driveway over a few weekends of work, and don't think the neighbors were happy about it. Tyler
On Feb 11, 2016, at 10:48 AM, David Rifkind <drifkind@acm.org> wrote:
On Jan 30, 2016, at 12:10 AM, David Rifkind <drifkind@acm.org> wrote:
Finally got around to looking at the keel on my (’84) M17 and it has the disease—the centerboard trunk is separated all the way around the lip. I can have it hoisted up next week and see if the centerboard operates. If not…well, let’s worry about that later.
The local boat shop (there are not a lot of them in Tucson) looked at my keel and I think it blew their minds. Anyway the price they quoted to fix it blew mine.
My main hesitation in trying it myself is lifting the boat. I think the shop will let me use their hoist to get the centerboard in and out, but I’d have to work on it at home. That means stands, blocks, and jacks, and working on a dirt surface. I’m not feeling good about it.
Is there a shop in the Phoenix area worth talking to?