how do i force down the centreboard from inside the cabin of my 1971 Oday 23 - wire pendant variety ? I cannot seem to get anything down inside the post in the cabin. Thanks
centreboard not dropping
- Thread starter Jonathan12951
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I don't think that there is any way you are going to get the centerboard down from the inside. The keels on the older O'Day 23s before 1974, were made of cast iron and chances are the keel slot is caked up with rust, preventing the centerboard from moving. You will need to get at the centerboard from under the keel somehow. For more info on this, check out this site. http://baysailorbill.spaces.live.com/ Bill had an O'Day 23 with the same issues and he was able to bring her back to excellent condition. I don't know why the O'Day people built the keels this way but they finally solved the problem in 1974 when they started building the keels out of lead. These are still great boats and they will still sail without the board, but the upwind sailing is better with the board.
I keep a 4' fiberglass pole in my O23, like the kind you would use to mark a driveway for plows in the winter. Sometimes by cb just needs a little push and then it drops. The bendiness of the fiberglasss allows me to get it into the pipe in the pendant even though there is cabin roof right above it -- the hatch opening is nearby.
Nate,
It really depends on the extent of the rust inside the keel slot which could be preventing the fiberglass centerboard from operating. You guys can try getting the board down from inside the cabin.
I remember when Bill was trying to remove his board a few years ago. He talked about it on this forum. He wound up breaking the centerboard in half just trying to get it out. He cleaned up the keel and painted it with a special paint. Then he rebuilt the centerboard and installed it and was back in business. He did an excellent job on his O'Day 23. It came out looking practically like a new boat. I love the cabin interior of these boats. I wish that my O'Day 222 was set up the same way. These are still great boats, but the older models offer more of a challenge. Check with Baysailor Bill on this. He likes to recondition boats as a hobby. He's a real great guy and I'm sure that he will steer you in the right direction.
That's great. You're all set then. It doesn't hurt to check the pendant connection on the board every year though. Mine is pretty good this year, but last year I found a broken cotter pin on my shackle and had to replace it. Have a great sailing season Nate!
Joe
if the C/B has been working until just recently, you might try to motor along for a mile or two with the line lax. Sometimes this will clean out the slot enough for it to drop. Good luck.
With the right equipment, you can get the boat off the trailer. Roller trailers make it easier but I am able to get my boat off my tandem bunk trailer with four sailboat stands under the stern. I use a hydraulic jack under the bow and place a straight power boat stand under the bow close to the keel to hold the boat up while I move the jack. I'm able to move the trailer out from under the boat about two feet at a time because of the trailer's cross members. I also use 6"X6"s and 4"X4"s criss crossed under the hull to help carry the weight. Once the the keel is past the back of the trailer, I use criss crossed wood blocks to support the boat under the keel and pull the trailer out from under the boat. After that, the boat can be raised with the five boat stands spread out in the normal fashion. I usually block up under the stern and the bow as I raise the hull. The bottom of my keel is about about 22" off the ground right now. I've had it as high as 27" off the ground.
Baysailor Bill built a wooden beam out of 2"X6"s, lags, and Gorilla Glue. I have a picture of this beam. He used the beam for supporting the hull under the bow, once he raised the hull high enough to clear the trailer bunks. The beam was long enough to get the trailer out from under the boat in one shot.
The boat needs to be as light as you can get it in order to do this.
I think that it goes without saying that this can be very dangerous and you should take every precaution to make it as safe as you can.
I have been taking my boat off the trailer for years.
With a roller trailer, you would only need to anchor the stern to something solid, shore up under the stern with blocks, and use four sailboat stands, two on each side under the stern. Your towing vehicle would need to be used to pull the trailer out from under the boat a little at a time. Then you could shore the keel up when it's past the back of the trailer.
To get the trailer back under the boat, the trailer is lined up without the tow vehicle and the boat winch is used to winch the trailer under the boat. This used to take me about 20 minutes to do when I had my Load-Rite roller trailer years ago.
In either case, once the trailer is out, you can remove a stand on each side and place them about 8' to 10' forward of the other two stands. As long as you have support under the hull, and at least two stands to keep the hull straight, the boat is OK. The O'Days have strong thick hulls that can take roller trailers as well as bunk trailers. I have plenty of pics of this Nate. If you're interested, just email me and I'll try to send them to you. sailtrinkka1986@verizon.net
Joe
Hi Joe.
Thanks for this. Unfortunately Bill seems to have shut down the link.
You are right, it is a cast iron keel. Some years ago, when working in Haiti, I had the boat hoisted from a warehouse roof to try and clean out the slot. It was impossible to get at the rust inside - you really need some sort of long blade grinder, but I did my best and ended up replacing the centreboard, which worked once until I guess the rust built up again. I'm not sure what the long term solution is.
Jonathan
Thanks for this. Unfortunately Bill seems to have shut down the link.
You are right, it is a cast iron keel. Some years ago, when working in Haiti, I had the boat hoisted from a warehouse roof to try and clean out the slot. It was impossible to get at the rust inside - you really need some sort of long blade grinder, but I did my best and ended up replacing the centreboard, which worked once until I guess the rust built up again. I'm not sure what the long term solution is.
Jonathan
Jonathan,
I'm not exactly sure what Bill did to his keel. A lot of that info might still be in the archives on this forum. It seems that he either removed the keel and sand blasted it and used a special epoxy paint on the metal. He built a new centerboard for it. This much I know. One of our club members was going to buy his boat back then and changed his mind.
Years ago, we had another club member who owned an O'Day 23 with the same keel issues. He loved the boat in spite of the fact that the centerboard was stuck. He left the boat at a local boatyard in my area and after a period of time, the yard owner took the boat in Lieu of storage fees. I heard later that the yard owner installed a full keel to the boat and sold it.
I've heard that someone out there had a kit for converting a keel centerboard to a wing keel. One of our members was considering that for his O'Day 25 years back. There has to be a good answer to this problem somewhere out there. Perhaps someone will chime in.
I didn't know that Bill shut his blog down. I still have his email. I'll ask him what he used on his keel for you.
Joe
Jonathan,
I talked to Bill about his O'Day 23 and this is his reply:
Hi Joe,
The 23 was a good project and I really miss the simplicity of that boat. I would say in hind sight, removing the keel and having it professionally sand blasted would have been the easier way to go, but I did everything with the keel on the boat. After removing the swing keel I used an air-chisel to clean all of the rust from the keel. After cleaning the metal I used a multistage treatment from RUST-BULLET to clean, prepare and prime the keel. Make sure to follow the instructions to the letter and apply fresh “Ablative” Bottom Paint every season to keep the barnacles from eating into the metal and starting the rust all over again. I talked to the man who bought the boat, he keeps it moored on Long Island all season. As of the end of last season, the keel is holding up perfectly.
The Web Site Address for Rust Bullet is:
http://www.rustbullet.com/?source=adwords&gclid=CIL8_bDVgagCFYbb4AodUhvZqg
I will dig out some pictures and re-write a blog on the site to help out some of the guys.
Happy Sailing ans I hope to see you on the bay this season,
Bill
If people are interested in all the pics that Joe sent me - I can host them on my site for download. That is, if Joe doesn't mind. There are some good hand drawn pics of the center board wedges, etc... As well as actual pics of the keel slot and what you are dealing with when attempting repair.
Nate,
No problem. Go ahead and post them. I just want to remind everyone that trying to raise a boat off a trailer is very dangerous and that every precaution should be taken in order to do it safely.
Joe
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