On my M15 I tried hammering a rod down from the top, and it caused a lot of damage to the inside of the centerboard trunk that took a lot of work to fix once I got the keel down, but it didn't move the centerboard at all. I would really strongly recommend against continuing with that course of action. What worked for me was building a puller and pulling down from the bottom, per a design posted by Captain Jim Sadler on this board. I am attaching the photos of the puller I made with just a dremel and standard hardware store parts. Sincerely, Tyler ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Hymes" <jamesehymes@gmail.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, March 4, 2019 2:12:02 PM Subject: M_Boats: Possible solution for stuck centerboard My CB has been stuck the past several times I've taken her (#69 M17(Not Coyote- I believe the boat named Coyote has the same number as mine, but was modified for racing - doesn't have a full cabin--but that 's not important right now). anyways, I drilled a 3/4" hole in the cockpit floor just aft of the doorway into the cabin above the CB . Drilled it there so that the steel rod will have good contact with the top of the stuck CB. I used a steel rod and a 10 lb sledgehammer, floated the boat but kept it on the trailer at the boat ramp. I was able to lower the CB a little, didn't have the motor so didn't want to have to struggle getting the boat back on the trailer in the wind - since it was not in open water I didn't get to see if it would drop all the way, will find that out next time. The last time I did sail with the CB up, it was too windy, and I was uncomfortable with the amount of heeling it did and also didnt point so well. I'm extremely hopefull the CB will drop all the way, cause if not I'll take ti and lift the boat on land and try wiggling the CB out while hitting it from above, may have to get drastic and cut open the keel and dig out the old steel slugs and replace with lead ballast - something I hope to avoid. If it works out, I'll put in some sort of plastic with a removable cap for the steel rod to fit into. I'll repost to let ya'll know if the sledge works. Jim in Denton Texas
