Help! Centerboard won't go up!

needsanap · #1 (**permalink**) 08-18-2011

I have a contract on a Pearson centerboard/keel boat and during the survey we discovered that the centerboard leaves 10 inches of board down below the centerboard trunk when it is pulled all the way up. The seller's broker said the owner had mentioned it to her but apparently it didn't occur to her that she should change the draft of the boat by ten inches in the listing. A shoal draft boat was one of the prime criteria for us and this additional draft puts the boat only three inches short of mean low water at the dock I was planning on moving her to. (soft sand bottom) Everyone says it should be an easy fix. The centerboard does go all the way up if you stand next to it and push it up but that doesn't free up any line in the cockpit. So the centerboard itself isn't stuck - the surveyor thinks that putting another tun around the larger wheel in the box where the two wheels for pulling it up are will fix it. (I gather that the larger wheel has the line wrapped around it and the line becomes a cable which wraps around a smaller wheel which hauls up the board, giving the hauler in the cockpit a mechanical advantage) We couldn't get the box open without dismantling part of the woodwork. The yard says they need it hauled back out to work on it. (its in the water now).
So does anyone have any experience with this problem and is it an easy fix? I hate to give up on the boat at this point but I really want the shallower draft I thought I was putting a contract on. Thanks!

sailpower · #2 (**permalink**) 08-18-2011

Why not have the seller fix it and let you know when it is done? If it's an easy fix he/she shouldn't object.

needsanap · #3 (**permalink**) 08-18-2011

I think the seller think its an easy fix for me! He has offered to reduce the price a bit "for deficiencies from survey" - there are several things that need to be fixed or replaced. He is not offering to fix anything, especially the centerboard which he doesn't consider a problem. I am mainly concerned that we could buy it and have it hauled for the centerboard repair and have the mechanic say it can't be fixed. Nobody who claims it should be an easy fix is offering to give me my money back for the boat if it turns out they are wrong. Then I will have to wait for global warming to raise the water level at my dock!
I suppose I could make the sale contingent on the "fix" being successful and pay for it now and then if it can't be changed I have wasted a bunch of yard fees but not the whole price of the boat.
Has anyone out there done this type of adjustment on their centerboard? Thanks!

JimsCAL · #4 (**permalink**) 08-18-2011

I see no reason why this can't be resolved. Obviously something wrong with the cable system. If you can't figure it out, find someone who can.

Is this a Pearson 34? FWIW the owner of one in our club was told his boat was a little low in the water. Went out to find 3 foot of water in the cabin with the engine completely submerged. Cause was a fitting for the centerboard cable. Total cost of repairs is in excess of $5000.

CalebD · #5 (**permalink**) 08-18-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by needsanap

...
The centerboard does go all the way up if you stand next to it and push it up but that doesn't free up any line in the cockpit. So the centerboard itself isn't stuck - the surveyor thinks that putting another turn around the larger wheel in the box ...

From this description I doubt that adding even a few more turns of line around the double wheel will really do much but it is certainly worth a try if you can access the double wheel pulley.
I'd wager that the attachment point where the wire rope is connected to the C/B is not lined up well with where it exits into the center board trunk. If the board can be pushed up into the trunk by a person then certainly when the Pearson encounters the bottom the board will also be pushed up. If the bottom is sand it should not not hurt much of anything; less so mud or rocks obviously. This depends on where you plan on keeping her, which is where?

We'd all like to know which model Pearson boat this is.

needsanap · #6 (**permalink**) 08-19-2011

It is a 34. For this season I have a slip that is deep enough but I plan to move to a dock in Florida which is only 5 ft at mean low tide which means much lower when the wind is from the wrong direction in the winter.
The three feet of water in the cabin sounds terrible. Although we have lots of experience as guests or with charters on boats this size, this is our first boat purchase bigger than a Sunfish - I think I need to change my user name from "needsanap" to "needsadrink!"