The centerboard box on my blue jay sailboat is swellen and won't let the centerboard lower What do I need to do for repairing this problem?

I am the proud owner of Blue Jay #14. I believe "Blew Jay" is one of the oldest still around in her class. She was destined to become a flower pot when I arranged to purchase her with trailer and hauled her from Kansas City to Texas. I put many, many man hours into her in an attempt to restore her for my museum, the Great Lakes Small Boat Sailing Museum (I have a photo gallery of her restoration pics on my facebook at Dr. James McCluskey). In terms of the wooden centerboard, Blew Jay's was much the same problem. I put down blankets on some soft grass, tipped her on her side and leaned her against a tree. I then managed to pry the board out of the centerboard case. Upon his passing, I had inherited a set of steel files from my father, John T. Sr.. They were different kinds, such as a rasp file. I'm sure you could purchase these rather inexpensively at any store that sells tools such as Home Depot, Lowes, or Wal-Mart. Any woodworker knows that steel teeth do a bit quicker job on wood and old fiberglass cloth than sandpaper does. Of course, I used some pretty coarse grit sandpaper too! It wasn't an easy job, but the files were long enough to reach up inside the trunk far enough to remove the offendiing portions that were chafing on the board. I also used a crowbar to bend the trunk apart. Eventually, after several days at this task, I was able to eliminate the problem. In that photo gallery on my facebook I also have pics of the completed project, with Blew Jay floating in the lake next to my 19' Lightning Orange Peel 2 and my 23 foot Macgregor Venture cutter. It's really neat to have the Blue Jay floating next to her "bigger" sister, both designed by Sparkman & Stevens years ago! By the way, I stripped all of the paint off the deck, topsides and floorboards and put 16 coats of Cetol Light and Cetol Gloss on her. I also had to replace the back deck, as the original was too rotten to save. Otherwise, Blew Jay is completely original, right down to her bronze turnbuckles and cleats. And, although I've only sailed her once, she is a true joy to skipper! Please feel free to contact me, Dr. Jim McCluskey, at one_great_dad1@hotmail.com with any additional questions or comments. We presently have 55 sailboat exhibits, some of which are "works in progress!" Fair winds and a following breeze to you all! --Doc