Centerboard stuck

[Paul Drummond]

Went sailing last weekend with centerboard down and ran aground on mud shoal. The centerboard is now stuck in the up position. Any suggestions on how to "unstick" it without pulling the boat out? Diving under is not an option.

[Justin - O'day Owner's Web]

Paul,Is the centerboard stuck in the fully up position, or just most of the way up? If part of the board is still sticking out below the bottom of the boat, you may be able to work a line under the boat laterally, then snake it forward until it catches the board. If so, pull the board the rest of the way down by yanking the line forward.If the board is all the way up, its gets trickier. Do you have any idea why the board got stuck? When you went aground, did the board slam up? If so you may have mud stuck in there with it.l Some wave action might let it free up. If not, you may be dealing with a bent pivot shaft, in which case you are probably going to have to haul and repair it.Let us know what you find out.Justin - O'day Owner's Web

[Chris Burti]

I did the same thing to a Bristol 35.5 a few years back. Taking a dip was the only solution. It turned out that we had jammed a waterlogged tree branch between the well and the board. I threaded a long dock line over the branch (after multiple dives), and ran the ends to the genoa sheet winches and cranked it out.FW&SS,Chris

[Justin - O'day Owner's Web]

Chris,Did you damage the boat by trying to pull the log out? I would think the rope could do some damage to the gunwales etc. I would think that if possible the use of another boat to pull the line out could prevent some future glasswork.Justin - O'day Owner's Web

[Chris Burti]

Justin, No damage done, I just needed more leverage than I could get swimming. The 35.5 did have a varnished teak toe rail and as I recall, I protected the finish with towels.FW&SS,Chris

[Paul Drummond]

Thank you for your suggestions. I went sailing on Saturday and the board came down after about an hour. I assume that the well was packed with mud, which is terribly sticky around here. Happy sailing.

[Justin - O'day Owner's Web]

Its great you didn't have to do any major surgery. There's a Tartan in the bay near here waiting for a new pivot pin after the owner hit a ledge! I don't envy paying for that job.Justin - O'day Owner's Web