Quite awhile back, I had a problem with a sticking centerboard on my M17. I saill it on fresh but do a lot of salt water sailing. Sometimes she is in the salt water foe a couple of weeks at a time. To free it, I did little pounding with a steel rod inserted in the pennant hoe. Once it dropped, Ihad it sand blasted and primed. That worked very well and now when it occasionally sticks, I squirt a very little bit of WD 40 into the pennant hole (on both sides of the centerboard ) and it usually drops quickly. John Edwards "Miss T" M17 # 372 ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.