Hi Stephen,

You could just pull the board up and down a few times to scrape off the mussels.

Regards,

Rick Lange

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 3:40 PM Steven Alm <stevenalm at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
> > > >
> > >
> >
>