After reading others' comments, I'm thinking I should have had greater success putting my boat on her trailer with the board down. One of the problems is that I have an old-style board that I've had covered with fiberglass, and the board kept missing the rollers and coming in contact with the trailer proper, which damaged the 'glass: That shouldn't be a problem with a plain iron board. Also, the board got wedged between the roller and roller mount, which was a sticky problem. The ramp I was using was very level, and may not have provided an "angle of attack" that could have guided the board onto the roller only. I have keel guides and still had a serious problem that was only remedied by winching up the board. However, again, reading other postings, I'm beginning to think the problem may have been my ramp-angle . . . I think, with a plain iron board, you would know right away that the experiment wasn't going to work, without causing any damage to the board or boat. I can't speak for the trailer paint. :-) p.s. I really like "Montgomerians" . . . :-) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Sylvester" <wmcsyl1@cox.net> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 10:50 PM Subject: New Old M-17 After being a part of this chat group for over 6 months, I greatly respect your opinion. When you were trying to trailer your boat with the centerboard down, what happened? Will it be obvious to me that it is not going to work or will I break something? Bill On Wednesday, October 22, 2003, at 07:24 PM, Honshells wrote: In my unfortunate experience, the board won't just swing into the trunk as the boat is winched onto the trailer: Chalk that up to forgetting to raise the board before retrieving, or, rather, attempting to retrieve, the boat. I'd be inclined to jump to the final fix . . . ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Sylvester" <wmcsyl1@cox.net> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 1:20 PM Subject: New Old M-17 It looks like I am finally going to get to bring old #279 home. The major hurdle is that the pennant that raises the centerboard is broken, and the centerboard is down. Getting her on the trailer could present a problem so I have come to the experts for their opinions. I have a couple of ideas: It might just swing into the trunk as the boat is winched onto the trailer. (??????) My present idea is to tie off a line to one of the winches, run the line under the boat, have a diver position it under the centerboard, then use the other winch to pull the board into the trunk. Do either of these have merit? The final fix is to give the guy in the boat yard $180 to pull it and put her on the trailer. What do you Montgomerians think? Thanks, Bill and Darcy Sylvester M-17 #279 Endelig