Strange object in centerboard housing

[Pete]

I was checking the rope that's attached to the centerboard eye after removing the table and sheave that the centerboard rope passes through at the top of the centerboard housing. When I looked down to see where the rope is attached to the centerboard eye I noticed an object that puzzled me. It's about 3" wide by 8" long and 1" thick . What is this thing and does it belong there?

 

[Pete]

Strange object Identified.

The strange object that I found while looking down the centerboard housing was a bottle! In fact it was most likely a liquor bottle that somehow managed to find it's way into the ceterboard opening. I probed this object with a metal rod and it sounded like glass so I slapped it with a hammer and sure enough it broke into pieces and fell through the centerboard housing to the ground. I thought that I've seen everthing on this boat after six months of total resortation but the bottle is something else. It was a flask type bottle most with a plastic cap. How it got there is beyond my imagination as it could barely fit through the bottom of the centerboard opening. I do know that the centerboard would not have dropped with this bottle there. I have not yet sailed this boat as I'm not finished with the repairs. Strange days indeed!