REMOVING GUIDES

Removing WALTZING MATILDA'S Centerboard Guides
(Please ignore date on posting as that date was necessary to have this post appear where I wanted it).
This posting was actually started on N0v. 24/2010.




After 7 years of using the "balanced" system of suspending our centerboard, the time has arrived to replace the guides as the lower 10" of each guide has rotted away to almost nothing.



When our guides were inspected 7 years ago, they were in reasonable shape- worn a bit but not rotted. It is worth mentioning that when inspecting the guides, the condition of the upper half of each guide will be found in reasonable shape, it is the bottom half of each guide that presents the greatest risk for catastrophic disaster.
In my opinion the only proper way to inspect the lower half of each guide is to remove the daggerboard completely to insure a proper thorough inspection.
If the balanced system had not been implemented, our guides would have been in much worse shape. In my opinion, the balanced system has bought us 7 years of trouble free operation before the guides absolutely had to be replaced.
It is a source of amazement to me that the guides could have deteriorated so much in a relatively short space of time. In fact the lower 10" of each guide look like charcoal rather than wood. The lower ends are very crumbly and they disintegrate when handled.










Front centerboard guide
























Rear centerboard guide has not deteriorated as badly as the front guide















This condition could compromise the watertight integrity of the centerboard trunk at the top front corner of the centerboard (penetrating the trunk) if one encounters any obstruction with the centerboard bulb.





The bulb is about twice as far from the limit bolt (pivot point) as compared to the top front corner. Consequently, whatever force is exerted against the bulb will be multiplied by 2 against whatever is restraining the top front corner.

If there was an inch of white oak material ahead of the top corner to spread the load, as with a brand new front guide, the bulb could hit an object without causing significant damage to the trunk. Without a guide in good condition, an encounter with even a shallow depth could easily fracture the 1/4" thick centerboard trunk and then you start bailing fast.




This condition is not to be ignored, unless you enjoy that sort of gamble, as serious consequences could result -
Your MATILDA could sink very quickly as a result of this situation!!!!









WALTZING MATILDA (before painting) on hoist at a friend's driving shed.







Notice the skids and cradle under stern of boat. This year's (2011) centerboard removal was accomplished in less than an hour and one half from the time the boat was lifted off the trailer until it was back on the trailer, ready to depart.







The centerboard removal operation went quickly and without mishap.
#1 Position boat on trailer under hoist.
#2 Remove trailer from tow vehicle.
#3 Lower support on front of trailer so that stern of boat is as high as possible.
#4 Stack supports (skids?, etc.) under cradle at stern of boat.
#5 Put lifting strap under boat just in front of bulb.
#6 Lift boat off trailer.
#7 Remove trailer.
#8 Put heavy blanket under bulb area.
#9 Assemble blocks under bulb to take weight of bulb (a hydraulic jack works great for this).
#10 Remove bolts holding pulleys from top of centerboard.
#11 Carefully remove blocks supporting centerboard until centerboard is on the blanket.
#12 Lift boat on hoist until centerboard is clear- approximately 46" clearance between ground and boat bottom at front of bulb - be careful that centerboard does not fall over when it comes out of slot,
#13 Gently lay centerboard flat on blanket and pull blanket out from under boat.
#14 Put trailer back under boat and lower boat onto trailer.
#15 Remove lifting strap, remove cradle and supports under stern, hook up to tow vehicle and drive away.










The centerboard "AWLGRIP" paint has stood up amazingly well, considering it has been in operation for 7 years. It only required a light wash with muriatic acid to clean and looks like it did when initially installed.
The leading edge of the centerbord is in good shape proving that the balanced pulley system is worth the effort.


The most interesting observation was that the bottom of the bulb had most of the green epoxy paint scraped off yet the primer paint was in decent shape???? We must have ventured into skinny water too often?




Removing the guides was relatively easy
as the bottoms of the guides were so deteriorated.

Any wood above the waterline was in reasonably good shape.

As the wooden top support had split and been repaired by a previous owner, it took only a few cuts with a chisel to cut the support in half which made removal of the guides much easier.

The top support was not glued at the ends but held only with wood screws.










With the top removed, it took only a few blows with a long screwdriver to separate the joint between what good wood was left and the fibreglass trunk.








Should mention here that the wood surrounding the axle (bolt) nut for the pulley that leads to the winch had deteriorated.






Over the years, tightening the bolt had exerted sufficient stress on the nut that the wood surrounding the nut had fractured.
So use discretion when tightening those axle bolts in the top support.