Rich, I would second what David said. My M-23 board would move but stuck solid from scale when I tried to remove it. The rusty scale made the center board too wide to fit in the slot. This tends to usually start with the board becoming kind of sticky though. If this came on suddenly it may be the pendant got jammed next to the board. I am trying to think of a way to get the board moving without cutting holes. Not sure how you could do that. You might try moving a hand saw along the sides (carefully) to see if you find that there is clearance around the board. All this would be much easier with the boat lifted. Robbin On 6/5/2011 5:32 PM, Rich Makela wrote:
My '77 vintage M-17 spends the summer on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. I launched for the season last week (a bit late) and took my first sail yesterday. When I tried to drop the centerboard it didn't move. It is stuck in the up position. I've had the boat since 1999 and this is the first such problem. I did have a problem raising the board a couple of years ago, but that problem went away on its own after a couple of weeks.
I've looked at the photos and diagram of the centerboard on a '78 model on the msog.org website, so I think I know what is inside the CB trunk that I can't see. I thought about pushing a rod of some kind through the pendant opening to try to push the board down, but the hole is not much bigger than the pendant. I also don't want to damage the pendant or its connection to the CB.
Does anybody out there have an idea what might be binding the CB, and what I can do to dislodge it without breaking something?
Rich Makela
M-17 #233
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