Association Forum - C250 Centerboard Removal

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C250 Centerboard Removal

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Keith D.
Navigator

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USA
233 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/12/2005 : 23:26:21

This is a removal method, which only requires a 5/8” ratchet and a needle nose pliers and a couple blocks of wood.
This is the second time I have removed the centerboard. The first time I raised the boat off of the trailer 8” which took a lot of work. So I rethought the process and decided there was no real reason to raise the boat up at all. I have 1 ¼” clearance between the centerboard and the front cross member which is enough to get the centerboard out of the boat.
The first step is to drop the pulley under the step, which holds the centerboard cable. This is where you need a needle nose pliers. This will give you enough slack in the cable to get the board out. (Upper left picture)
The second step is to put a couple of 4x4” blocks under the trailer tongue jack. This is so you can get enough travel to raise the front of the trailer up enough to get the board out. You will need to raise the front of the trailer up 18” at the bottom of the brace, which holds the bow roller. Two 4x4’s did it for me. Keep it as low a possible on the 4x4’s for now.
Next put a block of wood under the centerboard and lower the trailer until it just touches the centerboard. (Upper right picture) You can now take the 4-5/8” bolts, which hold the centerboard blocks to the boat, the block of wood will now support the centerboard at this point.
Next you can start raising the front of the boat up with the tongue jack bring it up so you have about 18” under the bottom of the brace which holds the bow roller. As you do this centerboard will come free of the block of wood and come to rest on the front cross member. (Center left picture)
Next you will be able to take the centerboard blocks off of the centerboard. You will now be able to push up on the back edge of the centerboard and start pushing it forward. It will pivot on the front cross member. (Center right picture)
Continue pushing it forward under the cross member, which holds the bow roller. It will eventually come off of the front cross member. (Lower left picture)
You can now lay it sideways and push it out of the way. I put it on a caster board. (Lower right picture)
Follow the steps in reverse to replace the centerboard. It will take about ½ hour. This was a lot faster than raising the boat off of the trailer. I had to take the Centerboard out this time to do some maintenance on the pulley, which is used to raise the centerboard up. Of all of the pictures I have seen of various trailers this method should work on all of them.
I hope this helps the next person who has to take a centerboard out of a 250 while it is on a trailer.

Keith

Keith
Southern California
250wb Hull #8

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zebra50
Captain

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USA
408 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2005 : 12:58:47

what did you do with the bunk boards/guides for the centerboard? My trailer has two guides to assist in placing the boat on the trailer correctly/centerd.

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bear
Admiral

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USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2005 : 13:40:59

Jay, Keith has done a good job modifying the centerboard removal process. When I did this last fall I took the two bunk boards off. It also helps in cleaning and waxing the underside if they are out of the way.

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Keith D.
Navigator

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USA
233 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2005 : 19:46:40

Jay the guides you speak of run from the rear cross member to the center cross member. So from the front of the boat you really don't see them. This is true of the Trail Rite trailers also. They would not be a factor in this removal process because the centerboard comes straight out the front of the boat and stays upright until it is on the ground. Even if they were to the front cross member and very tight to the centerboard it wouldn't make any difference. Here is a picture from the rear of the boat and you can see the guide bunks are still there and in place. The only thing I added was a second set of bunks, the center set, because the original outer ones seemed to me to be too far out. As you can see they are almost on the side of the boat and above the water line. This also allowed me to distribute the weight to more surface aria and get rid of the dimples the single set of bunks left.

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.