Centerboard clamcleats

[Spinnytoo]

For my centerboard, I have to clamcleats on the side of the centerboard casing, one for the up haul of the board and the other for the downhaul of the board. It has been suggested that the downhaul be un-cleated in shallow waters in case it hits rocks or the bottom, then the centerboard is able to freely push upwards. Auto release clamcleats are used for the rudder in keeping the rudder down and if it contacts an object, it forces the auto release clamcleat to release the line letting the rudder freely move upwards before it is damaged. So my question is, has anyone replaced the downhaul cleat of the centerboard with an auto release clamcleat?

[DigitalMechanic]

That is something I have wondered about. My centerboard just has a single horn cleat. For whatever reason, once the centerboard is down, the ropes are no longer long enough to tie off on the cleat anymore. The centerboard just dangles. Now, my rudder has a bungie type rope spliced into a stretchy 3 strand polyester. It also ties off on a horn cleat on the tiller to keep the rudder down. But, if you hit something the bungie part that is spliced in, would allow it to stretch and pop up. I am not sailing at a level where I feel that the centerboard being presses 100% down all the time is a big issue. But the thought has crossed my mind when I do, to splice in some more bungie to the centerboard line so it is long enough to tie off, keeping it down but allowing it to break free if necessary.

I am sure someone else will chime in with another idea. I think that this concern has been solved a number of ways.

[jeadstx]

Spinnytoo, your centerboard cleat system has been modified from the original to use cam cleats with two lines instead of one continuous line using a horn cleat. The modification on your boat has been mentioned before in other posts. Instead of leaving it uncleated to allow kick up, you should be using an auto release cleat for the downhaul.

DigitalMechanic, your boat has the original setup like my boat does. It can be a bit odd at times. Like you said, when the board is full down there is not enough line to cleat it. I usually just wrap as much line as I can around the horn cleat. The original system does not allow the board to kick up if you hit something.

On my tiller, I have added the auto release cleat to the tiller for the downhaul line, works very well to allow the tiller to kick up when needed. When I sail on the Texas coast, there are areas of very skinny water ( 2' to 3' depth) I sometimes need sail thru where the board is not down all the way and it is real good to be able to have the rudder blade able to kick up.

John

[TIM WEBB]

John is spot-on here, and I might also add that, with the DS2's CB control system, it's a good idea to keep tension on the uphaul line/cable at all times in order to keep the UH cable from slipping off the top edge of the CB and jamming between the board and trunk. Later models came with a bungee on the cuddy floor for this purpose, between the mast step and CB trunk. The forward end gets tied to an eyestrap right behind the step, and the aft end gets tied to a becket on the block that's attached to the UH cable. Needs to be short enough but stretchy enough to keep tension on the cable any time the UH line is not doing so. An easy enough mod to add to any DS2 that lacks it.

I've found that just keeping tension on both UH and DH lines at all times will prevent a jam. I'm using a regular fairlead clam cleat for the UH and an autorelease for the DH. Can be used with either a two line or continuous line setup. TRW has the latter. When lowering the CB, whether I want it part way or all the way down, I'll keep tension on the UH side of the line while cleating off the DH side where I want it, then cleat off the UH side. If something does cause the CB to kick up (or the rudder for that matter, although it doesn't have the jam problem), you'll hear the autocleat start to "groan" before it pops, even on the lightest setting, so you usually have a couple of seconds to do a manual release while pulling on the UH. Make any sense? I have pics in my gallery with more detail in the image descriptions ...

[GreenLake]

I like the peace of mind that comes from knowing that both rudder and CB can kick up. We have a few rocks dotting the shore in some places, and it's amazing how they get about. I could have sworn I was safely out of danger when I heard the impact... or the way the lake levels always change when you are not looking.

[TIM WEBB]

GL, just curious: is the purpose of the pawl on the DS1 CB lever to keep the board up, or down, but to allow it to come up if it hits something? Forgive my ignorance of the system, as I have never seen one live and in person.

I guess the reason I ask is that we would not even be having this discussion if the DS CB didn't have a tendency to "float up", or be pushed up by the force of the water, on its own, requiring that it have a means of keeping it down in the first place ...

[GreenLake]

The DS1 pawl is to keep the CB up, presumably so it doesn't lower itself in between the supports on the trailer as you launch....

There are some people who rig a line from the handle to force the CB down. This would be of interest mostly in racing, where you can lose valuable advantage if your board decides to have a mind of its own. In cruising, the tolerances aren't as critical and you are mentally not as occupied, so a regular check of the handle position would be enough to catch the CB misbehaving.

What I found is that for the vast majority of conditions I sail in, the board stays put nicely due to friction in the pivot. I have mine adjusted to where it takes a bit of effort to lower. Also, one needs a bit of positive pressure on the gasket to stop any leaks. In my experience, the force required for the latter is sufficient to cause enough friction for the former.

For my rudder, I equally rely on the friction hold. There, I found that the wing nut must be tightened with a tool. Merely hand-tight is not enough. But just beyond that is a regimen where the rudder will still be down at the end of sail, yet can be bent 15 degrees by hand to facilitate storage (without touching the nut). If I tighten it to the right point, I don't have to check it for many, many trips in a row. Except, if I have new crew, they have a tendency to want to take the rudder apart for storage or to loosen the nut for whatever reasons of their own, and they can't get it tight enough again without a tool (leatherman). So, I need to have an eye out for that.

Profiling both CB and rudder had the effect of reducing drag (somewhat). Every little bit helps in keeping those foils down.

I suspect that if we had more sustained high winds, and more planing conditions, that friction alone might reach a limit. In that case I would rig the usual downhauls with auto-release cleat on the rudder, and fit some kind of downhaul strap (with break-away release) to loop over the CB handle. But not until they prove necessary.

[TIM WEBB]

Thanks, that's what I was thinking, that the pawl was to keep the CB up. The DS2 does not have the advantage of being easy to adjust the friction on the CB pivot bolt - could be the reason they went with the pendant system in the first place ... ?

[talbot]

I'm so out of it, I didn't even know they had invented auto-release clam cleats.
I put cam cleats on my uphaul and downhaul lines, which lets me set the board to any angle and lets me release either in a second.
But it's the second after the board has hit something.
One more thing to put on my wish list.

[DigitalMechanic]

Looks like a $20 and you would be in there...

http://duckworksbbs.com/hardware/cleats/sd002570/index.htm

Just replace the downhaul cleat. You could still use the regular uphaul cleat to force positioning of the centerboard.

[jeadstx]

The auto release cleats work great for the rudder downhaul as well.

John