center board sticking up

zephyr101 · Post by **zephyr101** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:10 am

This is my frist mac x 1997 and it gets around here in shallow water good in estro bay fl. my problem is center board sticks up. pulled it onto trailer and got under it and shook it and some beans fell out.then it was free put it back in water.board went up and down ok.pulled board up fast and it stuck again,got it free by hitting the trunk the board is in ,ran aground and got it stuck again .now i can't get it free and don't want to pull it out again.I plan on drilling a hole in top of trunk and taping it pipe thread. then i can push it down with a rod and then close hole with pipe plug. has any one had a problem with this and how did you fix it??? do you think this will work ??

ROAD Soldier · Post by **ROAD Soldier** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:28 am

Do you have anti-fouling paint in there? My paint is quite thick and causes my centerboard to slowly fall down sometimes. If you don't I would check the pivot hole on the board itself to see if it is elongated with a jagged edge the might cause the centerboard to cock in such a way it is catching on the bracket. Also see if your centerboard bracket is bent of misaligned. Also check your centerboard rope and pulleys for it. Now one last thing what do you mean by beans

J.Teixeira · Post by **J.Teixeira** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:06 am

Sometimes small pieces of hood float inside the centerboard trunk (very common in fresh water).

If you run a ground those pieces of hood might be hammered into the top of the trunk.

They do exactly what you described...

I would remove the centerboard to check the bracket, the pin and the hole in the board...

And jet wash the top of the trunk

It is possible to do it on the trailer...

Jose

davidbagnall · Post by **davidbagnall** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 12:18 pm

I have found a fairly simple process that, at least for me, works a treat.... (I have had mine stuck several times)
I let out maybe 3 inches of centerboard line and then throttle up just enough to get the bow lifting (a semi plane maybe 7-8 knots) and the force of the water pops the centerboard out usually in a couple of seconds. If it is still stuck I just power down and repeat and so far it has worked every time.

zephyr101 · Post by **zephyr101** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 3:37 pm

the beans are 6" to 10" long and about 1/2" to 5/8"dia and float in the water the was clean when on trailer. in a slip in spring creek off estro bay boniya springs fl.

zephyr101 · Post by **zephyr101** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 3:40 pm

the trunk was clean .bonita springs fl.

Chinook · Post by **Chinook** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:20 pm

zephyr101 wrote:I plan on drilling a hole in top of trunk and taping it pipe thread. then i can push it down with a rod and then close hole with pipe plug. has any one had a problem with this and how did you fix it??? do you think this will work ??

No way would I drill a hole through the top of the centerboard trunk. Such a hole would be below waterline, and I'd never mod my boat by adding a hole below waterline. There's a reason for the board sticking, and you need to discover the source of the problem and fix it.

zephyr101 · Post by **zephyr101** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:18 pm

tried leaving slack in centerboard rope and speeding up .WORKED LIKE A CHARM. cleaned out center board trunk and board goes all the way up and down .i didn't think it would work.but i'm happy to be wrong thank you. and no hole in bottom.all is right in the world.good sail with plenty of wind today!!

DaveB · Post by **DaveB** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:12 pm

I have a Mac 26X 1997 and live in Cape Coral, a 15 mile distance.
I took my centerboard out and reglassed it than added a all low strech braided line to it. This line was professionaly attached to the eye as any width line attached to centerboard will cause binding.
I belive the all braided line is better than steel and rope/as originally installed . Amsteel cable is also great.
Binding on the rode is probably your cause for getting board down and it's related to the uplift cable.
When you remove the centerboard, you will need to fill in the groves in the trunk linner.
I also recommend a quick release jamb on both rudders,these you can find ind Duck Works.
Dave

zephyr101 wrote:This is my frist mac x 1997 and it gets around here in shallow water good in estro bay fl. my problem is center board sticks up. pulled it onto trailer and got under it and shook it and some beans fell out.then it was free put it back in water.board went up and down ok.pulled board up fast and it stuck again,got it free by hitting the trunk the board is in ,ran aground and got it stuck again .now i can't get it free and don't want to pull it out again.I plan on drilling a hole in top of trunk and taping it pipe thread. then i can push it down with a rod and then close hole with pipe plug. has any one had a problem with this and how did you fix it??? do you think this will work ??

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