[Rhodes22-list] centerboard report

[Mary Lou Troy]

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Thought I would report back to the list on our findings and what we've 
decided to do.

You may recall, we found a couple of surprises when we removed the 
centerboard trunk cap.  Attached are 3 pics. One shows the trunk with the 
cap off looking forward. The second shows the trunk with the cap off 
looking aft. the third show the rather unique plug in the top of the 
centerboard trunk cap.

After some consultation with Stan and some poking about with a flashlight 
and mirrors this is what we've determined:

For some unknown reason (repair?, improvement?) a "washer" or plate of some 
sort of composite material was epoxied or glued to the centerboard trunk 
lip. That's the white plate you see around the centerboard trunk opening. 
The gasket (which is in great shape) was on top of the white plate. This 
plate is really well fastened to the centerboard trunk lip and is very 
solid. The plate is slightly thinker than the lip of the centerboard trunk. 
With a mirror you can see where the epoxy or glue completely filled the old 
bolt holes in the lip to the point of forming "stalactites" under the holes 
and was squished out at the exterior edges.

This repair/improvement/reinforcement has never leaked. The glue/epoxy and 
the plate material show no sign of deterioration. Therefore we have decided 
to let sleeping dogs lie and will not attempt to free the centerboard. Stan 
suggested and we agree after careful inspection that it would probably not 
be too big a job to cut through the plate to extend the opening forward to 
where the centerboard could be freed. This should not compromise the 
integrity of the assembly as the plate seems to be fastened so securely to 
the lip. That said, we don't have any real problems that require the 
removal of the centerboard. We can replace the pennant while we have it 
apart. We'll also paint the upper portion of the board that is exposed with 
the trunk cap off. Maybe later in the season we'll get the marina to haul 
the boat with the lift so we can paint the rest of the board. The only 
thing we can't do is clean out and paint the interior of the trunk but it 
doesn't look as bad as I thought it might.

We will fiberglass over the hole in the top of the centerboard trunk cap. 
Stan says that the top of the cap is above water unless you are "motoring 
at high speed"(?) but the plug is really shot and didn't fit very well in 
any event because the centerboard in the up position is so close to the top 
of the cap.

I do think we'll leave the interior disassembled until after we've launched 
just to make sure we haven't created any leaks.

Thanks to everyone for their input on this.

Mary Lou & Fred
1991 R22 Fretless
Ft. Washington, PA / Swan Creek, MD
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Url: http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attch/200303/15/Centerboardcapoff1.jpe

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Url: http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attch/200303/15/Centerboardcapoff2.jpe

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Name: Centerboard cap plug.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 161566 bytes Desc: not available
Url: http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attch/200303/15/Centerboardcapplug.jpe

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