[Rhodes22-list] Swing Keel Problem

[David Talbot]

As they say, experience is something you get just after you needed it…

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 11:30 AM, Charles Nieman <blue66corvette at hotmail.com>
wrote:

> A word to the wise …. The top of the centerboard cover is below the
> waterline. If one tries to remove the cover while on water, you will end up
> testing the positive flotation system.
>
> Don’t ask me how I know
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> Charles Nieman
>
>
> > On Aug 23, 2021, at 9:32 AM, Graham Stewart <gstewart8 at cogeco.ca> wrote:
> >
> > This might be completely obvious to everyone else but I "discovered"
> that the best way to make centerboard cover bolt removal easier is to place
> them with the head down and the nut on the top. Obviously the bolt must not
> be so long as to tough the floor boards. It is much easier to hold the head
> with a box wrench and remove the nut with a impact driver.
> >
> > Graham Stewart
> > gstewart8 at cogeco.ca
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On
> Behalf Of Steven Alm
> > Sent: Monday, August 23, 2021 9:42 AM
> > To: Rhodes
> > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Swing Keel Problem
> >
> > I have the diamond board on my 1990. For the first time yesterday it was
> > not operating smoothly like it always has for 25 years. I have not
> grounded
> > or anything. I suspect the board and trunk are clogged up with zebra
> > mussels. I’m slipped in Lake Pepin, which is really a stretch of The
> > Mississippi River and yes, there’s a major infestation of these little
> > bastards on the river but I’ve not had this happen before. This is our
> > third season at this location and like a lot of the country, we’re
> > experiencing drought conditions and the river is much lower than usual —
> so
> > maybe being that much closer to the bottom at my slip puts me closer to
> > their habitat.
> >
> > But this is all an assumption at this point. My marina does have the big
> > sling lift and we could inspect it that way, but before I incur that
> > expense I thought I’d run it by y’all first in case anybody has had this
> > happen — maybe it’s something else or maybe someone has a better idea.
> >
> > I have removed the board from the inside before to replace the control
> line
> > but it’s a real chore that I’d love to avoid if possible.
> >
> > Note: the 50 or so bolts around the centerboard cap were originally
> > Phillips heads and each and every one was a struggle to remove. I
> replaced
> > them with hex heads so it won’t be near as bad the next time, if ever.
> >
> > Thanks for any ideas
> > Slim
> > Fandango
> >
>