My centerboard is broken

[bpearly]

I am trying to maintain my sweet little Liberty following my husband's (the real sailor) death. After a minor encounter with a sandbar, the centerboard handle stopped rotating the board. After removing the handle and shaft (is that what it's called?), the centerboard does not come out of the case. It appears that the shaft - shaped like a hex - must fit into a hole in the board that fits it, but the sawdust on the shaft indicates that the hole was stripped. Do I have to cut into the centerboard case to get at the board or mechanism? Can anyone tell me how to fix this?

 

[txjim]

Any way to post a few pics? I'm not familiar with the Liberty but we may have suggestions after examining the damage.

In general, it's likely that the centerboard can be repaired with Epoxy (perhaps better than new) but it depends upon the hardware and damage

 

[bpearly]

don't have pix

Any way to post a few pics? I'm not familiar with the Liberty but we may have suggestions after examining the damage.

In general, it's likely that the centerboard can be repaired with Epoxy (perhaps better than new) but it depends upon the hardware and damage

I don't have my camera where the boat is! A picture wouldn't help because the problem is inside the case. Let me try to describe it. This is a very simple system with a plastic (don't think it's fiberglass) case, a wood handle and wood board. The issue is that I have removed the handle and pin and expected the board to pull out of the case from below, but it appears that it is held in by some mechanism other than the pin. Maybe it is just stuck, but I don't want to force it if there is a mechanism. But if there is a mechanism, the only way to get at it is to cut the case apart. That seems like a strange way to design a boat in view of inevitable maintenance. Any thoughts?