I am unable to hoist the centerboard of my 1997 h26 all the way to its slot in the hull. About a 45 degree angle is as far as it goes. Past that, I am afraid that it would put too much stress on the raisning/lowering mechanism. Have any other 26 owners had this problem? David King, "Molly"
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Barnacles?
I'm sorry Im not familiar with the boat but I take it, it is the water ballasted model with a swing centerboard. Trailer sailors usually forget or cannot reach the centerboard to put anti-foul paint on it and the enclosure walls. If the boat is going to be kept for some time in the water; barnacles and growth develops in a matter of weeks. I once loaded a swing keel vessel on a trailer and when I started pulling it out of the water it started heeling over on the trailer as the swing keel would not retract fully. It took a spade and a lot of elbow grease to clean the keel. If your boat was in the water for an extended period of time it may have to be hoisted up and have the center board cleaned and if possible painted.
I'm sorry Im not familiar with the boat but I take it, it is the water ballasted model with a swing centerboard. Trailer sailors usually forget or cannot reach the centerboard to put anti-foul paint on it and the enclosure walls. If the boat is going to be kept for some time in the water; barnacles and growth develops in a matter of weeks. I once loaded a swing keel vessel on a trailer and when I started pulling it out of the water it started heeling over on the trailer as the swing keel would not retract fully. It took a spade and a lot of elbow grease to clean the keel. If your boat was in the water for an extended period of time it may have to be hoisted up and have the center board cleaned and if possible painted.
H26 Keel
You are probably going to have to dive on it to figure it out. I would not stress the keel uphaul until you are sure what is keeping the keel from coming up. If you break the line you'll have worse problems. If the obstruction is due to barnacles or something else, it's a simple matter to clean it up.
You are probably going to have to dive on it to figure it out. I would not stress the keel uphaul until you are sure what is keeping the keel from coming up. If you break the line you'll have worse problems. If the obstruction is due to barnacles or something else, it's a simple matter to clean it up.
Centerboard +
Thanks guys, but Molly is in the water all the time. When I haul her out, as I did a few days ago, I can see the board will come up only about 45º. No barnacles, no obstructions. I think that there is just not enough mechanical advantage to raise it more. That board is heavy. It weighs about 100 pounds. Lucky for me that the Bahia de Banderas is deep as are most anchorages. I leave it down, always. Gracias, David y Molly
Thanks guys, but Molly is in the water all the time. When I haul her out, as I did a few days ago, I can see the board will come up only about 45º. No barnacles, no obstructions. I think that there is just not enough mechanical advantage to raise it more. That board is heavy. It weighs about 100 pounds. Lucky for me that the Bahia de Banderas is deep as are most anchorages. I leave it down, always. Gracias, David y Molly
A followup question
George, Thank you for posting this picture. I just purchased a '95 H26, and took it out for the first time yesterday for a trial. We had the same problem described in the original post. We could not raise the centerboard using the up haul even with the winch. We eventually got it up by lifting the line at the base of the mast and winching when we could a little slack. . Mine is not set up as your is in the picture, the uphaul line comes straight back with no additional blocks in between. I am new to all of this, so it is a little unclear to me from your picture how this works. Do you pull the line through the block that is lowest in the photo or it the line stationary there? I assume in the picture that the centerboard would be in the up position. Thanks for your help. Paul
George, Thank you for posting this picture. I just purchased a '95 H26, and took it out for the first time yesterday for a trial. We had the same problem described in the original post. We could not raise the centerboard using the up haul even with the winch. We eventually got it up by lifting the line at the base of the mast and winching when we could a little slack. . Mine is not set up as your is in the picture, the uphaul line comes straight back with no additional blocks in between. I am new to all of this, so it is a little unclear to me from your picture how this works. Do you pull the line through the block that is lowest in the photo or it the line stationary there? I assume in the picture that the centerboard would be in the up position. Thanks for your help. Paul
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