Centerboard repairs

Jan 8, 2015
360
MacGregor 26S, Goman Express 30 Kerr Reservoir
Awhile back I completely tore off the SS cable for raising the centerboard. I had temproarily tied some cord into the hole to get me by since I rarely removed the boat from the water. Now that the boat is out of the water, it is time to fix it correctly. When I raised the boat up off the trailer, the board didn't drop far enough to reach the attachment point.
Centerboard lowered.jpg


I could raise the stands another 24" or I could dig a hole under the centerboard. I am a little leary of raising the boat too far up in the air since I will be working underneath it. If I was to dig a hole, how deep would it have to be to be able to get to the attachment point?

26S on stands.jpg


Would anybody see a benifit for additional jackstands? If so where should I place them that they won't be in the way of the trailer?
Unfortunately I don't have any stands short enough to replace the 55 gallon drum placed under the front of the boat. Nor do I have an easy way of lifting the front of the boat any higher.

I am trying to get this finished before the weekend and rain is forecasted for tomorrow, so I don't want my haste to cause me to do anything stupid.
Any opinions or suggestions would be appreciated.
 

Sumner

.
Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
You release the board either underneath or inside depending on the year. Inside on later S's. Outside on early ones.



See my site for pictures if it is earlier....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-40.html

You don't need to drop the board all the way to remove it.



If you just want to get to where you attach the uphaul cable you need to drop it a little more, but you could also drop it....



.... and get to the attach point.

I can't see the boat stands well enough to see if you have a chain between them. If not I'd use one.

Sumner
===========================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
 
Last edited:
Jan 8, 2015
360
MacGregor 26S, Goman Express 30 Kerr Reservoir
Sorry for the bad pics - it was already dark by the time I got it up on the stands. (I do have chains between them)
Sumner, I was hoping for a quick repair to reattach the uphaul cable but would you suggest I take the time now to completely remove the board to perform an inspection of the pivot bolt while I have already gone this far? Would an alternate method of something like just wiggling the board let me know it there is excessive play that needs to be addressed?
 

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,511
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
my .02 and could be way off but that looks a little scary.. remember the trick where you stand on a beer can and just tap the side and the can collapses. I dont think you will ever get a good answer on what the load rating of that drum is and you would need to be working right under the boat..

Sumners pictures are for the earlier model S like 1990, maybe up to 1991 and it would be easy to drop that centerboard out the rest of the way giving access to both the pivot and uphaul. Later S models have an access to drop the centerboard from inside the cabin but Im not familiar with how that is done. I just have heard that you need to take care to prevent leaks after messing with that. The hanging pivot is supposed to have some slop allowing the centerboard to rotate a little in the slot so that the load bearing is provided by the the slot rather than the hanger.

Maybe this picture will be useful in telling you how far you would need raise the boat or dig the hole to get to the uphaul. It is possible to drop the centerboard with the boat much lower to the ground if you drop the CB from the pivot. I think many threads here over the years on how to do this mostly just using the trailer.
 

Attachments

Jan 8, 2015
360
MacGregor 26S, Goman Express 30 Kerr Reservoir
Thanks Walt. That drawing shows that I will have to lower the centerboard mostly all of the way down.
Mine is a 1992 so I was hoping not to have to mess with the pivot bolt removal because of the concern for introducing leaks.