You know what, Steve, I just had a thought. This is a long shot, but... see the little screw at the aft edge of the slot? That's the keel stop pin, that keeps the keel from swinging all the way out of the boat. Looks like somebody replaced the pin with a large flathead SS screw. See if you can get that out before you do anything else. On mine, when I removed that pin (somebody put a bolt in mine)it was bent a little, and the clearances are really close there, like 1/4-inch or so. If that pin were bent and somehow rotated, it could be scraping against the back edge of the centerboard and causing (or contributing to) the problem. It's just a thought. Best BG -- Brian Gilbert Marine Media Author, Fix It and Sail (423)876-9990 3404 Hartford Drive Chattanooga, TN 37415 www.sailingsmall.com on 1/8/06 8:36 PM, montgomery_boats-request@mailman.xmission.com at montgomery_boats-request@mailman.xmission.com wrote:
To get where it was, I beat on it a little from the top with a quarter inch steel rod and that moved it down about 2 inches. The rest of the way was done by grabbing on to the 2" portion with some old vice grips and beating on them. It moved pretty easy to the position in the picture, but it stopped hard there. Since I have had it, it has never been any lower than that in the picture.
I think Sean's idea of drilling a hole and pressing a dowel into it to HIT, would have been the way to go, but I did not have the means to do that, that day.
Using a jack to return its up position is a good idea as I don't want to put too much undue strain on the winch backing. Also, the lubricant would seem to be a good idea. I think for now I will leave it go until I have a window of opportunity to do it complete. Look forward to your pictures.