Morgan 34 Centerboard Diagram

[Donahue]

I had a Morgan 41 that likely has the same centerboard setup. Over the years I pretty much rebuilt the entire system. When I first bought the boat, my board did not want to go down either. It turned out that the board has a mild steel plate in the middle that is glassed over. Over time, water got in and the steel rusted pushing the glass apart, cracking it, and making the board much wider. I ended up removing the board (which is fairly easy to do if the boat is on a travel lift on stored over dirt where you can dig a big hole) and having it rebuilt. Also replaced the pennant with spectra as someone else mentioned.

If you can see some cracking on the board (likely near the head) this is probably what you're dealing with.

[daisygirl_io]

Thank you so much.
Can you tell me what "spectra" is? as in:' replaced pennant with spectra'

Kate

[GordMay]

“Spectra” is a Ultra-High molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibre, made by the Honeywell Corporation, which yields a very high strength, and cut-resistant, rope, often facilitating replacement of steel cables, at one tenth their weight.
“Dynema” is the Dutch company DSM Dyneema's brand of UHMWPE.
Both Dynema and Spectra offer nearly identical characteristics.

[Seacod]

Originally Posted by daisygirl_io

Hi! I recently acquired a Morgan 30 (1969). I'm having an issue getting the centerboard to go down. I hear it cranking to bring it up a little, but then it releases only about a foot. I just had a scuba diver take a look and he said all looks clear. Any suggestions what could be causing this to stick? I'm a life long sailor, but maintenance and boat fixing was never something I had to tend to until now.

Hi Daisy; I have a Morgan 24/5 with the same centerboard and mechanism.
You need to trace condition of all sheaves in bilge from winch to the stainless rod. You also need to check the packing at the gland nuts. Usually noone has done proper maintainance on any of this and so, sheathes dont run clear, rod is too loose or too tight, and without a doubt, the stainless cable from the outside end of the rod to the pivot head of the board is in nasty shape and will eventually fail usually at the ferrule or close by. Your problem sounds like a sheave problem but....the other gremlin could be gravel or calcareous growth in the centerboard trunk (go for swim, with long metal-cutting sawzall blade to run up along board on each side of board in trunk/ you can find plastic handles to connect to those blades) Sounds like alot of work but mostly due diligence...and absolutely necessary with centerboards. You cannot see up the trunk enough to verify it is clear! Use long blade it works great on mine I dive on the boat twice each summer and rarely have trouble since doing it.