Mac 26 S centreboard broke off during twilight sai

[mgreavesaust]

Hi, just a note to all Macgregor 26S owners.Last Thursday night in about 25 Knots of wind and 4' of chop we heard a loud "BANG". We must have hit something partially submerged this impact broke the centre board off from the Pivot.On inspection there is a triangle of resin and glass now missing of about 2" at the leading edge of the board with it's apex at the pivot hole.The resin is yellow coloured and it appears to have been stained by rust from the pivot bolt (which must not be Stainless.)It may be that the boat has been partially resting on the board whilst on the trailer, if there has been osmosis or if the impact alone caused this mechanical failure.Has anyone else had this problem?Dose anyone know how to fix it?Once I have had the board fixed how can I get it back in?Has anyone had a new board cast in Bronze or other heavy metal? If so what modifications did you do?Any advice is appreciatedThanks

 

[Ron]

Ouch!

Tough luck with your centerboard problem. In the past I've heard that noise when trying to mount the boat back on the trailer (under power) and had forgotten to crank up the @$#%&* thing. On my '01X however, it wasn't too difficult to remove the CB from underneath the boat for repairs. Gobs of fiberglass matting plus resin followed by lots of antifouling paint made all quite respectable once more. Three years later, and it all looks just the same.The pivot bolt is more than likely stainless, but all SS components will after exposure to various environments, ie. chemical, salt or whatever show signs of corrosion, be it: Pitting Corrosion,Stress Corrosion Cracking,Galvanic Corrosion plus a few other types.Good luck, Ron