Centerboard trunk after the wood rails were removed. The trunk was loose in the back, and had pulled away from the rivets Each of the rivets were drilled out The metal retainer pulled away after the rivets were removed The front metal clip was then removed. This was a pain as there was not much room to work with power tools. There were rivets on one side, and steel screws on the other side which were rusted. After the front metal piece was removed, the centerboard cap came off easily. I used aluminum strips (L-pieces) to help strengthen the centerboard trunk. I also replaced the wood that was in the groove at the top of the trunk. Update 2009 I ended up pulling off the trunk and moved the supporting metal strips. Instead of the strip going over the top and side of the trunk, I moved it to the side and underside of the centerboard trunk support rail. The reason for this was that the strips raised the trunk cap just enough to make it difficult for the cap to seat correctly. I used 2 " wide strips of plywood on the inner skin of the outside of the centerboard trunk. I didn't want to have to deal with all of the riveting involved, and figured I could secure the cap with Stainless steel word screws. This would make it easier to remove the cap in the future if needed. I replaced the wood piece on the back inside of the cap. This is how the strips fit in before riveting. I moved the mainsheet blocks off the centerboard cap, and onto the new wood top which I will show later on this page. The back of the cap seems to take the most force from the main sheet block. I strengthened the cap with aluminum strips, and riveted then to the cap. With the strips secured to the cap, I set the cap back in place to further shape the strips I cut out notches in the centerboard trunk so that the cap would seat all the way down, The metal strips were threaded in between the wood strips and the outer centerboard trunk. This is the finished picture. The wood screws were used to hold the back of the wood strips that run the length of the inside outer centerboard trunk. These screws also go through the vertical metal screws that strengthen the cap to the trunk. I was able to catch the bottom of the vertical metal strips using a wood screw by pushing the strips against the outer wall using a chopstick through one of the drain holes in the back of the trunk. Once the screws had pulled the metal strips to the side I was able to rivet them into place. I came out well, but then I remembered I wasn't going to use rivets anymore. I finished attaching the cap using stainless steel wood screws through the metal retainer ring. I made sure each screw grabbed the inner wooden strips. I used #12  - 3/4 inch screws. You don't want them to go in too deep, and damage the inner trunk. It's important to remember that if you use any screws in the trunk, there needs to be some sort of backing. If you just screw into the fiberglass in high stress areas it will break, and usually break at the worst possible time. When I changed the centerboard gasket, I removed the centerboard mounts which were located on the bottom of the boat at the front of the trunk. It's probably a good idea to plan on replacing the gasket if you do this upgrade as you have to remove the gasket plates, and pull back some of the gasket to get to the centerboard mounts. This is what the board looked like when it was pulled out. Obviously the boat had been moored in it's past life. The board was in pretty good shape, and just needed a good cleaning, and sanding wih 1200 grit sandpaper. These are the 2 metal mounts I got from Harry Shindle from Cardinal Yachts. Instead of mounting from the bottom, they mount on the top of the centerboard trunk. Cut out a full wood cap. A lot of time on the downwond my crew likes to sit on the trunk. The notches in the fron are where the top mounted centerboard brackets will fit into. The brackets need to be secured to the trunk cap, and not the wood cap. If on the wood cap the board will ride too high, and not be able to be retracted properly. The arrangement also allows you to remove the centerboard for maintenence without having to remove anything on the cap. Done. I use a 6:1 mainsheet set from Nickels. Most of the time I like it, but it adds quite a bit more sheet in the cockpit.