Centerboard Re-do
I am in the process on my 1971 Mariner. Here's my basic process to date.1. Remove Centerboard.2. Remove all rust and bad stuff.3. Coat with West System Epoxy.Other components addressed. - The centerboard pin/washers/gaskets/ and bushing assembly. I did a lot of tap tap and then pound pound to get the pin to come out. I had already wedged the c'board up from the trailer to free the pin from weight. The issue was that the bronze bushing had worn out of round and was constricted. I considered replacing the bushing, but after an internal discussion concerning anal retentiveness and perfection vs perfectly fine for another 30 years, I emery clothed the inner part of the bushing to rotate freely and JB Weld filled the outer portion back to round where the c'board had worn it away a little. I did order a few new gaskets from Stuart Marine. - The holes in the c'board trunk were a little elongated. I put the pin in with a bungee cord over the top of the trunk to hold it up at the top of the oval holes. I filled the bottom with epoxy. (I may wear back down, but that's another 10+ years. - As I mixed and used small batches of epoxy, I also crawled under and patched at a few areas on the sides of the centerboard slot that showed some wear. (Also filled in some voids that showed up along there.Step 2 the centerboard cleanup - after trying a bunch of sanding, grinding, and chipping, I took it over to a guy with a sandblaster. This was the best $40 I spent for a while. The tip here is to have your epoxy ready to go so that when it been blasted you get home and get a coat on it.My process was:- tie a line through the big hole and raise it off the ground.- I bought two West additives, the filler, and the barrier coat. I used the barrier coat only the first coat. - My hanging method was mickey mouse and hard to work at so I laid it horizontally on a small bench and worked one side at a time and filled and sanded and filled and sanded. Once I got it pretty good, I raised it again to do a final coat of resin. - There's where I am. I plan to paint it with a coat or two of epoxy paint and then a coat or two of antifouling paint.Some still debatable issues. 1) would using OSPHO or some other prep on the bare metal be a good or bad thing? The sandblast guy recommended bonding the epoxy straight to the clean board and I did. 2) I have used no glass in the filling and smoothing process. I may still stick a bit of reinforcement around the bottom and run a strip of 2" tape down the leading edge. (more of the perfect or perfectly good discussion).I got a swaging tool off of e-bay for $15 to re-do the cable. I'm not sure exactly what cable or size I will be using. Open for suggestions there.I'd be interested in your comments and ideas.Good Luck,'Dale