The people in the shop at my job actually made the center plate for me. They only charged me scrap metal prices and time to use the plasma burning table ... VERY cheap compared to buying the steel retail and trying to cut it myself.
The only problem ... when I got home, I noticed that the steel was bowed slightly (about 5/8"). They must have ran it over with a fork lift or something. When I put a straight board on it, you can see the slight bend in it. The steel plate has to be straightened so it will fit in the trunk and pivot without jamming in the slot.
I tried jumping on it ... that didn't work. I drove over it with my small car ... that didn't bend it either. A professional would probably heat it with a torch, but I don't have one and don't want to pay someone to do something seemingly so simple. So I devised a silly (and potentially unsafe) way to bend the plate involving a large scissor jack, some chain and some 4X4's. Now that's some crappy engineering.
I straightened the plate, but it was more work than I planned. I did rough calculations and I figure that it took well over 2000 lbs to bend the plate. I had to bend the plate about 2" past flat to get it to permanently deform and spring back to a flat position. The plate is still kinked by about 1/8", but its much straighter now and should work.
I like the idea of a strong steel centerboard, but I have to find a way to keep it from rusting. Galvanizing it is one option, but the galvanizers in my area have a $200 minimum charge. I'll worry about it after I get the hull built.
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