DaySailer.org Forum

I feel clueless! I just bought a 1982 Day Sailer II and am trying to figure out how the centerboard works. I am able to raise the centerboard by PULLING the "raise centboard" line (the lower of the two lines, that runs forward towards the mast), and I can lower the centerboard by RELEASING the same line. When I lower the centerboard there is ~5 inches of slack in the uphaul, but when the board is up there's no slack. Is all of this normal? Am I really supposed to PULL the uphaul in order to lower the centerboard?

Welcome to the forum!

If you poke around in this DSII section of the forum, you'll find lots of discussions of the CB (a perennial issue for DSII owners) and some have diagrams as well.

One of the most useful things you can do is to sit down one quiet evening and just read through the older posts. That's how many of us here got started.

Now to your issue. The uphaul should be the line that pulls forward, and the downhaul should be the line that pulls in an upward direction.

The downhaul is usually attached to some point on the forward side of the CB, and pulling that point up rotates the board forward, lowering it.

The uphaul is usually attached to some point on the top rear of the CB, and pulling that point forward rotates the board backwards, thus raising it.

I write "usually" as there seems to be some variation in the precise arrangement, based on model year. (I don't own a DSII myself, but I've sailed on one, so I'm only generally familiar with the details).

Now, as you pull one line, the other goes slack. If you let that slack collect in the centerboard trunk, it can get stuck and lead to the CB itself being stuck.

When the CB is fully up (fully rotated backwards) the uphaul should be tight. When the CB is fully rotated forward (down) there should be no slack in the downhaul. (However, there may be slack in the uphaul unless you snug and cleat it.)

The downhaul is needed, because the CB is not weighted. It may be slightly heavier than water, but to ensure it's rotated fully forward, you do need to pull on the downhaul. The downhaul also prevents it from being pushed back by the force of water as you sail.

If you think you might ever hit something with your CB, you should make sure that the cleat you use for the downhaul is one that releases if overloaded. That limits the damage from such a collision / grounding.

Does any of that match what you are seeing?

Thank you so much for the information. I did spend a bunch of time over the last few days reading all the Centerboard related posts, but I couldn’t quite figure out the proper procedures for raising and lowering. Your information helps me make sense of it. My boat is currently up on blocks so I’m thinking that’s why the rope that is supposed to lower the centerboard doesn’t seem to do anything. I’m gonna get it in the water next weekend and Give it a try. I greatly appreciate it

Looking forward to hearing your results.