[Rhodes22-list] Thinking Ahead

[Michael Weisner]

Joe,

Centerboards on boats moored or operated in salt water that have issues lowering are usually fouled by barnacles or other marine life.  To complete your season, try repeatedly lowering and raising the board, allowing its weight and motion to do the work to remove the obstructions.  It doesn't take many critters on the sides of the board to cause the effect that you may be experiencing.  DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE BARNACLES BY HAND FROM BELOW AS THEY ARE VERY SHARP!  If there are a lot of barnacles present, an 8-foot 1x4 piece of soft pine can be safely used to knock off the growth while standing alongside in shallow water.  This will leave the barnacle base which will need to be professionally removed by a boatyard.

During layup time (winter project), removing the settee is the easiest part of the process compared to removing the centerboard trunk cover (60+ bolts).  If the blocks are worn or damaged, they are available from Stan or Dwyer.  I always replace the pennant and gasket when servicing the centerboard. After cleaning out and sanding the trunk and board, be sure to paint the interior and the board with the highest quality multi-season bottom paint that you can afford, since you want it to last a long time.

I would not cut the step/settee as the support may be compromised, not to mention the esthetics of the joint placement.  It is also a difficult area within which to work.  Cutting to the companionway bulkhead without removing the step/settee is not simple due to accessibility.

Why would you change the block arrangement?  I have sailed a Rhodes 22 continuously since 1981 and have never experienced a failure of the centerboard blocks that prevented normal operation.

Lastly, if the board cannot be lowered, you can still sail.  If the board cannot be raised, be careful when recovering the boat on the trailer, permitting the board to be raised by the roller (do not force it to avoid damage).  The standard Triad trailer does not require that the board be fully retracted.

Mike
s/v Wind Lass ('91)
Nissequogue River, NY

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Joe Camp via Rhodes22-list
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2016 7:49 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Thinking Ahead

Hello fellow R-22 Sailors:
     I have had problems with the pennant fro my centerboard lift:  Sometimes works. Other times, jams when lowering.  I want to take it all apart after the season, and I realized that in order to gain access to the blocks beneath the companionway step, I need to remove the entire setee.  The lazy fixer in me says that I should be able to make a cut that makes it easy to remove only the step portion to get to the enclosure for the blocks which is on the keel line.  Can I do this?  I have fished the list without success.  I can't believe that Stan would not have made this access easier... unless there were a reason not to do so.  Tell me what I don't know. 

     Can I make this renegade cut, right about the edge of the cushion, and make the step into the cabin its own removable piece?  This way, I could see what's mucking up my block and tackle.  There is also a school of thought that  says, "you don't need the block & tackle, as the center board is only seventy pounds." WHAT ABOUT THAT?  Thanks y'all.

Joe Camp
s/v John Dawson
Bohemia River, MD

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