DS II Very Sticky Centerboard

[mikeval]

New to me boat and went for a first sail Saturday. All is good but the centerboard is very very sticky. During the rehab, among other things I had dropped it, filled it, fixed it, replaced the SS bolt, new nylon bushing and redid the raise and drop connections. It went up inside the bunk fairly easy but it's very very sticky, hard to move, almost impossible. I was thinking of dropping it again, looking for any rub marks which may be difficult and sand down those - or - just thin it up a bit near the top. Any thoughts on what to do? I know they can be problematic but i really want a smoothly or close to it operating one.
Thanks
Mike

 

[Sunbird22358]

Is the bushing a bit longer than the CB trunk is wide? That is needed to give room for the CB to pivot without jamming (CB pivots on the bushing, not the bolt, so bushing need to be able to turn in the hole in the CB. My CB was a bit "sticky" when I got the boat (1979 model, I bought in 1996), I ended up sanding the top forward edges of the CB a bit and that helped, but it still can jam if pulled all the way up. I added a little hole in the top of the CB trunk to insert a push-stick to free it up if it sticks.

 

[AGMTurning40]

I have had m y Daysailer 3 centerboard get stuck up in the slot from built-up algae/lake scum. About once a season I would put on some swim goggles and go under the boat and clean out the centerboard slot with a brush similar to one used to brush snow off a car in the winter. It worked great each time and made the centerboard go up and down much more freely.

 

[Sunbird22358]

Adding info about how I ground a little off the top corner of my centerboard to reduce some of the stickiness. Also, the setup for my push-stick to help free a stuck-up centerboard.