I have a P14 and had not considered that this was an issue until this
thread started. I've been hoping that a couple P14/15 owners would
chime in on this subject so I could get a sense of its impact on my
situation.
I'd been planning on putting my boat in the water for the first time
(since I bought it) tomorrow to see how she rides, check for
problems, and insert the centerboard. I had assumed (with zero
reflection) that the boat should always have the CB in the CB trunk,
and that my boat had come into my hands with its centerboard out of
place for some unfathomed reason.
Common sense suggests that the centerboard would be okay in the CB
trunk while I tow everything up and down the volcano the 30 miles to
the Pacific. The trailer has a big roller about 18 inches aft of the
CB pivot pin. The center of gravity of the CB is in between these two
support points, such that the roller should carry maybe 60 percent of
the CB weight (plus, of course, much of the weight of the boat), and
the pivot pin should carry 40 percent. Like I said, common sense
suggests that this situation should be fine.
But then common sense isn't anywhere near as useful as experience in
evaluating a highly dynamic situation like a trailer rattling down
the road, smacking the boat and the CB against each other with
probable consequences to the watertightness of the pivot pin bearings
and the rest of the trunk.
Is there an issue here? Do most folks trailer their P14/15s with the
CB in place? Are there consequences?
Frankly, I'm a guy who likes pottering around with the boat ... but I
*really* don't want to add complications and effort to work at the
boat ramp.
-----------
Rich Duffy
P-14 #362
Kula, Hawaii