Stuck Up Centerboard

[newfyfan]

Have a Seidelmann 245 with a stuck centerboard in the Up position. Believe the pendant (sp?) is attached to the aft edge of the board and designed to raise the board only, gravity is supposed to allow it to drop once the pendant is loose on deck. Pendant runs from cockpit thru a deck organizer into the port side of mast, down thru compression post, thru keel to aft edge of centerboard. This boat was sunk in hurricane with the board down. Believe what may have happened is with the board down, the pendant was caught and jammed between side of the centerboard and side of the keel thus wedging the centerboard in the up position. There is a two inch loop of pendant sticking out from upper edge where centerboad and keel meet. Tried a "come along" and pry bar but could not budge the pendant clear. It is REALLY tight. Any ideas appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Brian S]

I hate those uppity centerboards. They think they are better than the rest of us, but they aren't!



Sorry, I just couldn't resist, what with your subject line and all.

Perhaps you can get a piece of 1/8" aluminum bar stock from your local Home Depot, and use that to jam up between the centerboard and the side of the trunk, and push the cable up out of the way?

 

[BILLNPR]

I like the aluminum bar idea, but I would grease the bar hopefully taking the pressures off the cable. I used a steel bar with a wood plate between the bar and boat bottom. The bar is inserted into the stern of the keel pocket behind the end of the keel and above it. A jack is then put under the free end of the bar to jack upward toward the bottom of the boat.
You will either lift the boat or free the keel. I used this method on a SouthCoast 22 whose keel was frozen with oysters from years of setting unused in salt water.