Warped washboards- can they be fixed?

[Kelpie]

My boat came with a set of lovely washboards made in a sort of shaker style using solid timber. Unfortunately the lower one was rather too tight a fit, and over a few weeks of winter weather it swelled up, jammed, and became quite badly warped.
I can plane a little off the sides to get it to fit, but are there tricks I could use to flatten it out and restore it to its former glory?

 

[Kinsale373]

Have you access to a domestic steamer like the Karcher type. Find a container thats just bigger than the wash board and use it a a steam box. After steaming remove from steam box and support the washboard so that you can apply weights to introduce a counter bend to the warp. you'll have to experiment with the time for steaming and allowing the weight to sit to counter bend. you might get some directions on the web from somone replacing timber planks in a boat. Worth a try though.

Kinsale 373

 

[Catalina36]

You won't. I had all this with the lid of a postbox which took on the shape it wanted. I spent weeks with it screwed down with wedges under it forcing it the other way, soaked it, steamed it, way over-compensated. Eventually took it out and it looked great. Put it back in place and within a couple of days it had gone back to where it wanted to be. Now leave me alone, it said.

There's a difference between steaming a plank to shape then fixing it in while it's pliable and locking it there, and changing the shape of something free-standing like a washboard. There's nothing to stop it going where it wants to be.