Someone -- probably the last owner, who was an engineer -- apparently had a problem with the Mariner's centerboard wobbling. Up near the top of the board, in a place that almost never is exposed below the hull, they attached four small plates. The plates probably were meant to take up space in the centerboard trunk -- the enclosed slot in the bottom of the boat up into which the centerboard is raised to give the boat a shallow draft or to improve downwind speed.
The problem they apparently did not anticipate was that once the paint flaked off of the iron centerboard, the iron would rust. And the rust would cause the iron to expand. And the four little plates then would be pushed against the inner sides of the trunk, gradually making the board more and more difficult to raise and lower.
So it was that today, when with the help of John Morrison and Doug Cunningham, I set out to inspect the centerboard for the first time and had the boat raised on the waterfront hoist, the darned board wouldn't come down at all.
It was cold early in the morning, so John and I didn't make it to the waterfront until well after 10 o'clock. (I didn't check the time.) Doug met us there by coincidence, and together we brought the boat to the hoist, rigged the lifting sling and raised it to hover above the trailer.
We soon discovered our problem, and we worked through lunch without stop, wrestling with the board -- which weighs hundreds of pounds -- to no avial.
We used a sledge hammer but even that seemed unable to coax the board into dropping out of its slot.
Late in the afternoon, I called Stuart Marine in Maine, explained what was happening and asked for suggestions.
"Do what you are doing," said Dave, the man on the other end of the phone.
Having been given license to treat the poor Mariner as we already were doing, we really let the sledge hammer fly. In about 15 minutes, the board was out of the boat and lying on the ground.
It does not look promising to get the board repaired and back in the boat in time for the Burlington Island Race on Saturday. My only hope is that the northeaster that is promised for the next two days will cause the race to be postponed.
By next spring, I see a new board from Stuart in the Mariner's trunk. That may be the soonest we will get to sail her, and that's okay.