Centerboard and floor/hull

[Guest]

A couple more questions concerning my recently aquired DS1 (#4480). The centerboard seems quite loose in the centerboard trunk...it can move side to side. Is there suppose to be some kind of washer between the board and trunk up at the pivot to limit this? I note there have been references to "shimming" the board on this web site to reduce this looseness, but was wondering if they originally came with shims or washers.

If you remove the wooden floors and stand in the boat, are you standing on the inside of the actual hull or on an inner false floor? Mine has had some repair to this inner area behind the centerboard trunk, so that's why I'm wondering. Also, there are two long "stringers" on inner floor that pretty much run the length of the cockpit. These appear to be formed from fiberglass and are hollow (and cracked in some areas in mine), not fiberglas covered wood strips) Correct?

Thanks for any information.

steve parsons (ramblerdrver-at-aol.com)

[Guest]

With the floor boards removed you are standing on the insde of the hull. It is not ad ouble hull like some other Day sailer models. The stringers that run the length of the inside of the hull are cored with some type of wood, I'm not sure what. They often get water in them and rot , leaving you with a spongy hull. Some racers grind them out and eopxy in a closed cell foam core over the whole bottom and glass over this. This results in a very stiff hull, which is much faster when sailing in chop.

Chris Lewton (clewton-at-erols.com)