Hunter 26 1994 centerboard problem

[sraymon12]

I have a Hunter 26 1994 and I need to replace the rope/line going to the centerboard. My owners manual only shows a drawing no directions. Do I have to lower the mast and move the table etc. Has anyone out there replaced the line to the centerboard? Any directions/suggestions. I would appreciate any help.

Sonia

 

[Jeff]

Although I've never done this I suspect a travel lift would make the process much quicker. You could then extend the center board to attach the lower end of the line. I would start by sewing the new line to the old up on deck. Then pull the old line from the CB end. BTW, on our 1996 H26 the CB was hard to raise the last foot or so. I installed a 3 to 1 pulley system on deck which helped quite a bit.

 

[sraymon12]

The problem is the boat is in the water. It stays in the water unless I have the bottom painted. I could have the diver that cleans the bottom of the boat to see if the line can be reached. In the manual, the illustration shows that the centerboard uphaul line goes down and around a pulley and is knotted further down. Thanks for the response.

 

[soling42]

Not 100% sure about a '94 26' but you can't do this in the water on newer 26/260's. The bolt at the base of the compression post holding the CB bracket is at/below the waterline and managing the CB/bracket/pins/rollers underwater would be almost impossible. It could go very poorly if the boat wasn't on a lift/jack stands. You shouldn't HAVE to step the mast but most people would check the pins and rollers for the whole system top and bottom.

There is info on the knowledge base for this project here(among other posts) found under the "boat info" tab above, then hunter 26/260, then "owner mods". Read up on your boat. There's a wealth of mostly good ideas there.
http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/index.php?option=com_kb&Itemid=267&cat_id=20&aid=6224&page=article&mn=260


Good luck, Mike

 

[Ted5610]

I had a 23.5 hunter which was pretty much the same thing. I tied a smaller line to the centerboard line. With the boat in shallow water (ramp, etc) o removed the pivot pin and let the centerboard fall out. I then retrieved the centerboard (about 70 pounds) replace the line and re-install.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Ted,
The H26 board has a bit more weight than 70 lbs.

Sonia,
Like the others, I wouldn't recommend an "in-water" replacement of the line.