centerboard handle work/ insight needed

[vbutera]

I am still working on the centerboard handle. I ordered the parts needed from cape cod because D&R did not respond to numorus calls and emails.
the parts I recieved do not match the centerboard trunk. The new handle has a one inch round extention after the square section on the peg, and the triangular plate is about 1/4 inch off on where the holes should be. Did I get the wrong parts or do I need to do something to make this work?

thanks!

[vbutera]

OK, I think the DS1 was not originally built with a hole in the port side of the trunk, and this round extension is an added item... am I correct?
If so, who out there has worked with this adaptation.
Do I just drill a hole on the port side of the trunk to allow this to protrude?
Do I really need to install and fiberglass in a receptical for this?
Do I have this extension cut off?

All I really want to do is to go for a few pleasurable sails this summer!

I'll take anyones comments, thoughts, experience.

[sunapeesailor]

My 1966 Day Sailer 1 has the extension. There is a hole on the port side of the trunk that accepts the rounded protrusion and keeps everything stable. The triangle plate looks, to me, as though it could be placed in any number of orientations so long as it holds the handle in place. Try calling Rudy again at D&R...I have had success reaching him on Saturday mornings and he has been very helpful!

[dsheer]

My daysailer. 1866, has what looks to be a brass plate glassed into the port side of the centerboard trunk that accepts the round end of the centerboard handle and a triangular plate that mounts with the diagonal up and to the rear. I do not know if the earlier boats had a different configuration. It sounds like you got the parts that would fit my boat.

I would not drill a hole into the glass to support the round outer end of the handle, since the glass is sure to wear quickly. I'd saw of the end first, but I do not like the idea of having no support for the centerboard handle on the port side. Sounds unstable, and there will be a good deal of torque on the handle. You might want to buy the entire assembly, and glass the port plate in, assuming you can get it.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Dan

[vbutera]

Centerboard handle is now in place!
Boat had been careened and is now on trailer!
New paint on hull!
Boat finally name "babalucci".

Now we get to pack it all up and drive it to Maine in two weeks!!!

Thanks for all your help.

I look forward to posting some great sailing news.

[dsheer]

So what was the fix? Just curious

Dan

[vbutera]

I used a hole saw to put a hole in the port side of the trunk. Found a brass bushing at the hardware store that the stem fit into and a rubber gasket that fit perfectly. The gasket fits on the bushing and is against the trunk and the bushing fits into the hole.

we did need to re-drill the holes in the triangle, actually making them oval so to have the right placement for the bolts.

The boat has not hit water yet this year, and probably won't until vacation... so we will see how water tight this all is.

I do have one question... how tight are the bolts to be?

[dsheer]

Tight enough so the centerboard stays up (in the water), and does not leak. You will need to put nuts on the bolts between the triangular plate and the centerboard trunk and, once the bolts are set as you want, tighten them against the trunk to lock them in place.

Dan

[Peter McMinn]

Vince,
Funny how similar problem solving goes on independently. I went through very much the same process you did--even finding the brass fitting to receive the pin on the port side (used a plumbing plug threaded into a stainless plate bonded to the exterior trunk wall).

Note to Dan, I sealed the hole in the FB to avoid rot, mainly. The brass fitting, easily replaced, takes the wear of the pin, which really only occurs when lowering the board. I guess we'll see how long this arrangement lasts.

[vbutera]

Dan,
Thanks for the tip on adding additional nuts between the plate and trunk, that makes a lot of sence.

I also noticed that the board drops a little when in the up position. I guess I mis calculated on the exact spot for the hole in the prawl. any good solutions to keep it all the way up while trailering?

[Peter McMinn]

I second on the nuts. This addresses the problem of the screws loosening, which seems a pervasive problem.

As for the board "dropping a little", welcome to the club, Vince. Most, if not all the older DS1's I've seen expose at least 2" of lower board when "fully raised". A flaw that was never addressed effectively in the older boats.

[dsheer]

Vince,

I believe there are a number of posts on the site which strongly recommend THAT YOU DO NOT USE THE PAWL TO LOCK THE CENTERBOARD WHEN TRAILERING. I agree with those posts. The centerboard would generate quite a bit of force on the pawl - and thus on the 1/4 inch bolt holding it - when the trailer bounces around. On my boat, that bolt was broken, and it took me a full day to drill it out, fill and rethread the hole, tap it, and put in a new screw. Not something you want to repeat.

There are also posts on how to support the centerboard when on the trailer, including attaching a board to the trailer under the centerboard slot for support. On my trailer, there is a roller which catches the end of the centerboard, so I do not need additional support. I make sure the pawl is NOT engaged before I take the boat on the road, and I engage just before I go down the ramp and when I get ready to take the boat out of the water.

I use the pawl only when launching and when motoring in the shallows. My board does stick out a couple of inches, but it has never been a problem during launch - the stern floats up before the board hits the trailer. I suspect the 2 inch "keel" adds some stability when under power. I did consider extending the pawl by tapping in a small brass round head screw at the end and then filing to suit. Not much work, but I don't see any benefit either. If there is a case when you absolutely need the board all the way in (e.g. sliding the boat off the trailer on land), you can tie it up using a rope attached from the centerboard handle to the mast. This was the arrangement on my boat when I bought it, since the bolt was broken, and the pawl was gone.

Note that when I got my boat there was a lot of play in the centerboard handle due to wear on the square hole in the brass plate in the middle of the centerboard. This is what the square shaft on the handle engages to lift the board. I went so far as to buy a replacement plate, but did not install it - I was afraid it would be too much work. Instead, I glued (Goop) some 1/8" aluminum strips to two sides of the square shaft to take up the slack. That took out almost of the play, but aluminum is softer than brass, and it will eventually wear (an advantage in that it's the replaceable aluminum that wears, not the brass). I'll deal with putting in new strips that when that happens.

Also, the centerboard slot is a good bit wider than the board itself, in case you hadn't noticed. This means that the board will wobble from side to side downwind, and switch sides when you tack. I don't like this. As a partial correction, I cut some furring strips of appropriate width from a pressure treated 2x4, and glued them (Goop again) inside the slot near the pivot hole. This seems to reduce the wobble some, but I will figure out a better approach next year. There are posts on "legal" ways to reduce the width of the centerboard slot under the boat. I will do that, along with something to snug the top of the board at and around the centerboard handle.

Finally, I'm not sure how you intend to support the bushing on the port side of the centerboard trunk. I would be afraid that the force on the bushing would wear the glass around it if the bushing had no other support. You might want to mimic the port side plat in newer DS1's by using some plumbing hardware (e.g a threaded plate with a pipe out the flat side and the pipe id the same size as the round end of the centerboard handle). You could easily glass (or glue) that arrangement to the port side of the trunk and seal it with almost anything. Be sure to seal the glass in any hole you drill, else it will deteriorate over time.

Way to much info.

Dan

[calden]

Dan:

Thank you for the post!

Despite having been an avid daily reader of this forum since October of last year I somehow have missed the importance of not trailering with the centerboard pawled up. I don't have problems with the centerboard despite this, so my karma level must be pretty good.

I'll figure out some kind of trailer support for the centerboard.

Carlos

[vbutera]

Dan...

You have given me much to consider and work on. we leave for Maine in just over a week... a 700 mile trip with the boat ! I'll be sure to rig something up to support the board for the ride. Thnaks!!!

[calden]

Thanks again for this great forum.

I put in a simple centerboard trailering support AND took the centerboard out and fashioned some large shims to help it quit flopping around when sailing. I first cut some formica, but that was very thin and splintered a lot.

I wound up using the fiberglass circles that were left over when I cut out holes for access ports on the seats. Not as large as I liked, but they were a lot sturdier and thicker than the formica. Not quite thick enough for a snug fit, but they will surely help decrease the centerboard slop. I drilled a 1" hole in the centers and filed four little corners so they would fit over the bronze square bushing.

Going out tomorrow, and we'll see if this made a difference.

Carlos