Posted: 11 Jun 2013 at 10:53pm
Hey all,

I hit [soft] bottom with the centerboard down recently. We drifted off the shoal in about 2 minutes. However, the centerboard linkage indicates that it is up. At low tide, the boat is obviously not resting on the bottom, so without going under, all indications are that the centerboard is up.

SO...do you think the board got pushed up by the soft shoal and then got gunked up by the silt, making it stuck there? I have tried to motor in reverse and "agitate" it down by rocking the boat to no avail.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mike
Cove Dweller
Yankee Dolphin 111


Posted: 12 Jun 2013 at 6:48am
Hi Mike
A long shot - when you 'reeled' in the centerboard line, if the board was in the 'stuck up' position, without the weight of the board tensioning the line, you might have fouled the line on the drum. Then when the gunk finally fell out the board was unable to drop because of the fouled line on the board side of the drum.

Do you recall raising the centerboard when you went aground? Was there the usual resistance from its weight? Check the centerboard pin to see if there is any sign of stress.

Maybe the board is actually down but the board part of the line is broken? Pass a line underwater around the beam of the boat pulling it aft and see if it 'hangs up' about where the board would be.

Your boat probably has a composite, glass wrapped board (See Website Technical Section. Maybe it, and/or the pin got warped and is binding.

Good Luck. Sounds like a few minutes on a travel lift is in your future

Ron
Marionette, #12


Posted: 30 Jun 2013 at 9:59pm
thanks, Ron!