I got a quote from my marina to hoist the boat up with their travel lift to inspect and scrape off the zebra mussels. He agreed that was almost certainly my problem. I don't need to drop the mast for this so it's a fairly simple matter. As for swimming in the Mississippi — I'm gonna pass on that. Here in the heart of ag country as well as being just downstream from Minneapolis/S. Paul, there's any amount of toxic waste and who knows what else flowing down the river. Not only that but I know you've heard of "Nessie" lurking in Loch Ness — here in Lake Pepin, many-a-tale of "Peppie" have circulated for years. I'd stay out of the water if I were you! Slim
Fandango

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 10:35 AM David Talbot <talbotdavid50 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> As they say, experience is something you get just after you needed it…
>
> On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 11:30 AM, Charles Nieman <
> blue66corvette at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > A word to the wise …. The top of the centerboard cover is below the
> > waterline. If one tries to remove the cover while on water, you will end
> up
> > testing the positive flotation system.
> >
> > Don’t ask me how I know
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > Charles Nieman
> >
> >
> > > On Aug 23, 2021, at 9:32 AM, Graham Stewart <gstewart8 at cogeco.ca>
> wrote:
> > >
> > > This might be completely obvious to everyone else but I "discovered"
> > that the best way to make centerboard cover bolt removal easier is to
> place
> > them with the head down and the nut on the top. Obviously the bolt must
> not
> > be so long as to tough the floor boards. It is much easier to hold the
> head
> > with a box wrench and remove the nut with a impact driver.
> > >
> > > Graham Stewart
> > > gstewart8 at cogeco.ca
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On
> > Behalf Of Steven Alm
> > > Sent: Monday, August 23, 2021 9:42 AM
> > > To: Rhodes
> > > Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Swing Keel Problem
> > >
> > > I have the diamond board on my 1990. For the first time yesterday it
> was
> > > not operating smoothly like it always has for 25 years. I have not
> > grounded
> > > or anything. I suspect the board and trunk are clogged up with zebra
> > > mussels. I’m slipped in Lake Pepin, which is really a stretch of The
> > > Mississippi River and yes, there’s a major infestation of these little
> > > bastards on the river but I’ve not had this happen before. This is our
> > > third season at this location and like a lot of the country, we’re
> > > experiencing drought conditions and the river is much lower than usual
> —
> > so
> > > maybe being that much closer to the bottom at my slip puts me closer to
> > > their habitat.
> > >
> > > But this is all an assumption at this point. My marina does have the
> big
> > > sling lift and we could inspect it that way, but before I incur that
> > > expense I thought I’d run it by y’all first in case anybody has had
> this
> > > happen — maybe it’s something else or maybe someone has a better idea.
> > >
> > > I have removed the board from the inside before to replace the control
> > line
> > > but it’s a real chore that I’d love to avoid if possible.
> > >
> > > Note: the 50 or so bolts around the centerboard cap were originally
> > > Phillips heads and each and every one was a struggle to remove. I
> > replaced
> > > them with hex heads so it won’t be near as bad the next time, if ever.
> > >
> > > Thanks for any ideas
> > > Slim
> > > Fandango
> > >
> >
>