Centerboard stuck in the retracted position

[Nancie]

I recently had the bottom of my boat painted, including the centerboard. I didn't test the centerboard before launching my boat and have discovered that the centerboard is stuck in the retracted position. Given this I don't feel it's safe to sail.Does anyone know how I can access my centerboard from inside my boat? If not does anyone have a suggestion as to how I might access it to loosen it so that it deploys? The thought of going overboard with a mask and fins has occurred to me but my memory about the sleeve the centerboard is in tells me it is very narrow. Pulling the boat out of the water and having it transported back to the yard is going to be extremely costly and time consuming. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Nancie

 

[Jill10924]

I'll let you know

Hi Nancie,I saw your reply on my thread about our centerboard woes with our 222. I will gladly let you know how our boat does without the centerboard--we should be trying it out next weekend.The 222 does have kind of a stub keel (extends about 8 inches below the bottom) with 800 pounds of lead ballast. I think that sailing without the centerboard in our boat will be safe but frustrating ... What is the bottom of your boat like? If it's completely flat with the centerboard raised, you might have trouble. However, I'm far from an expert.Good luck!Jill

 

[Bill11554]

centerboard

I have sailed my 20 with the centerboard up and the only thing I can caution is you will have more capability to sail sideways then with baord down. There is a bit of a stub under the boat that holds the centerboard pocket. You should be ably to sneak under there and give it a good yank or two to release it