Gordon, You might want to check for warp or twist in the centerboard. I have seen very little warp cause a board to stick. Granted this problem is more prevalent on wood centerboards, but as long as you have the board out of the boat it's easy to check for twist. Just lay it on a table or other flat surface. Rick Langer M15 #337 Bluebird

Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:36:47 -0600 From: Gordon Gilbert <gordon@financialwriting.net> Subject: M_Boats: Centerboard not centered To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Message-ID: <C36733DF.11E0%gordon@financialwriting.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"

Hi, everyone:

The centerboard on my just-purchased ¹83 Montgomery 17 appears to be off center when retracted into the keel trunk, so that its starboard side rubs against the trunk in the aft area (I probed around the retracted centerboard with a metal ruler, and there¹s plenty of clearance everywhere but this spot), causing the board to stick in the up position. I sprayed WD-40 liberally into the pendant hole and was able to lower the board, but I¹d like to eliminate the rubbing anyway.

What pushed the board off center, I¹m guessing, is that it protrudes an inch or so below the trunk even when retracted, and that the weight of the boat sitting on it bent the hinge bolt. Does that seem feasible, and have others had this problem? Is it common for the board on these boats to protrude beyond the keel trunk? I also noticed that loading the boat onto the trailer pushes the board further into the trunk, as there¹s about two inches of slack in the pendant from where I could pull it up while in the water. I'm hoping that the trunk hasn't expanded; this boat has never been kept on the water.

The boat¹s trailer is an EZ Loader with side rollers and a keel roller on which the keel (centerboard, in my case) rests. Once I¹ve pulled the board, replaced the hinge bolt and re-centered the board (or whatever else needs to be done), should I remove the keel roller so that the boat rests only on the side hull rollers? Will this put too much weight on the hull in too few places? My other thought is to replace the EZ Loader with a bunk-type trailer, with the boat supported totally by the bunks.

I¹d appreciate any suggestions on ways to keep my centerboard ³centered² and working well. Thanks!

Gordon