Hello all - got the "new to me" 66 DS1 out on the water this weekend for the first time - wow! I can see why there is such a great following of these boats, what a fun time!
Everything went great except for the centerboard. First attempt at launching from the boat ramp we noticed the centerboard was dropping freely and catching on the lake bottom even with the handle up. We ended up using a strap to manually hold the centerboard up until in deeper water. Further investigation shows that the centerboard handle does nothing, as the centerboard is always down no matter the position of the handle. The handle is quite difficult to turn as well, I know there are bolts to adjust that tensions but doing so has no effect on the actual centerboard.
From my limited understanding of these centerboards there is just a square hole that the lever goes through to set the board up or down. Best guess is that square hole has been rounded off by improper use from the previous owner so the board now drops freely. Thoughts? Any ideas on what else the problem could be? The previous owner did say he upgraded the centerboard with D&R a few years back - maybe improper install?
Additionally (although possibly unrelated) when the centerboard is down it bangs around in the trunk pretty aggressively, especially when some waves come in. I can see the trunk flexing as it it banged against by the centerboard top - is that normal?
When I get the chance I will try to remove the handle when the boat is on the trailer to inspect the centerboard connection, hopefully I am wrong in my thinking and don't need to shell out for a new board. Thanks in advance.