Shrimper Centreboard face lift

At the start of the 2016 season the Windsport team received a “ can you help” call from Philip  owner of  Shrimper Rebecca. The boat had been launched back into the water for the start of the season and first trip out the centreboard would not budge. A quick conversation between Philip and Windsport lead to drilling a hole in the top of the centreboard box and giving the top of the centreboard a hefty  clout with a sizable steel punch . Job done and centreboard now down there was clearly a longer term problem  and it was likely to be corrosion build up ( rust) on the sides of the board.

Keen to get as much sailing in as possible during the season Philip lived with a centreboard that could not be raised above half way and  asked Windsport to sort the problem nearer the end of the season.

In the last weeks of September Rebecca duly arrived off the Windsport beach and was floated onto the Windsport pull out trailer to start work .

With the hull hoisted into the air on strops the centreboard, with some persuasion, was forced out of the box along with flakes of rust and corrosion . The centre-board slot  dimensions were checked to confirm there was no swelling of the casing and given a good clean.

It was also the opportunity to inspect the rudder drop down plate by removing the pivot bolt and dropping the plate out. Just as well we did as the plate had totally warn though at the bolt hole and was ready to drop out!CornishShrimper Rudder drop down plate

Two weeks later , after the centreboard got the royal treatment of sanding back the significant corrosion build up to sound metal  followed by anticorrosion treatment,  layers of  epoxy followed by a gelcoat surface and antifouling the centreboard along with a replacement rudder plate from Cornish Crabbers was ready to reinstall.

Lining up the pivot bolt hole in the centreboard casing with the centreboard is always a challenge, but using a jig and some careful adjustment things go to plan.

The centreboard has successfully been re-inserted with a new pivot bolt, seals and lifting strop fitted + some repairs to the top of the centreboard box.Cornish Shrimper Restored Centre Board

All done and checked Rebecca was relaunched and placed on the Windsport mooring ready for Philip to collect and sail back to her own mooring at Loe beach .

Job done and another Shrimper with a centreboard that now goes up and down  like magic!

Windsport  Shrimper Services.