That was my misunderstanding of Captain Jim Sadler's design, he did design it to push against the keel, not the hull. That said, I used 2x6 boards and pushed right at a strong "wrinkle" in the hull. I think the force was very spread out and not a problem for the very stiff and thick M15 hull. There was no visible flexing or deformation of the hull at all. Honestly, I didn't need to apply much force to get the board down. I think the main problem I had before was that I couldn't get steady force in the correct direction, so nothing would make it move. The old centerboard was extremely brittle and would chip and fall apart whenever I tried to pry on it or grip it until I sandwiched it between those two heavy steel plates. Tyler '81 M15 #157 "Defiant" On Jun 16, 2014, at 7:58 AM, Thomas Buzzi wrote:
Geez Tyler, What a deal. Glad you got the board down. I think I would run those compression members back to the sides of the cb well. Those screw drives can generate lots of pressure. "Good on ya." Tom B M17 #258
On Sun, Jun 15, 2014 at 8:47 PM, Tyler Backman <casioqv@usermail.com> wrote:
I got the stuck centerboard on my M15 out with a puller (see photos) based on a design by Jim Sadler. The board was really stuck, and hammering down a rod from the top did nothing. Rusting seems to have drastically increased it's thickness. I wish I had tried this puller right from the beginning.
Now which way do I hammer out the pivot pin? Does it matter? I heard once that it's tapered on one end, but I don't know which.
Sincerely, Tyler '81 M15 #157 "Defiant"