DaySailer.org Forum

Hi guys, I noticed that my centerboard wasn't working properly on my (new to me) 1972 day sailer. I took out the bolt and lowered down the centerboard to discover that the second line from the bow had ripped out and was jammed in between the trunk and the centerboard. I repaired it using the Epoxy, sanded it smooth and put it all back together. It now swings freely and lowers very easily. The thing I'm wondering is should it raise up easily by pulling on the front line? or does it need to be in water? I'm having problems getting it to come back up while it's on the trailer. It won't stay up. Anybody have any ideas? I'm wondering if somehow the lines are backward. Thanks a lot in advance.

The uphaul (the one raising the CB) should pull forward, the downhaul (the one keeping it down) should pull up. (In some models the exits for these are slightly different, but that's the general principle). The reason for this is that the CB rotates and the attachment points for the lines need to go through a 90 degree sweep. (Please look at some of the recent posts here in the DSII section, there are diagrams you can consult).

Here are some photos to try to explain where I'm at. Everything has been put back in place the way I found it after I made the centerboard wire repair. The drawing is the way that It is currently rigged up. Is this correct??? Currently the wire at the top of the trunk pulls perfectly and lowers the free moving centerboard properly. The wire that shoots out of the front of the trunk is another story. It moves (a quarter of an inch) but seems to be shifting back and forth in the square shaped hole in the centerboard against the centerboard pin...(instead of swinging it up). Could it be that the wires are off or that the wires are placed incorrectly? Does the boat have to be in the water to raise (float) the centerboard up? I pushed the centerboard up all the way in the trunk and kept it in place with some standing 2x4's to see if I could cleat the front wire and keep the Centerboard up but to no avail. What am I missing here? Thanks in advance. I'm completely stumped and I'd love to get this baby going here since we are going to be having so nice sailing weather here in Minneapolis in the next week.

After giving it some thought, I'm wondering if maybe the previous owner put the wires in wrong. Shouldn't the wires be crossed to allow more leverage for both up and down motions? See attached photo. I may try this in the morning. (someone please stop me if I'm off)

On the 1973 and earlier DS II, the down haul line exits about the center of the CB trunk in the cockpit as your drawing shows (from seeing a 1973 model) and the up haul is like the rest of the DS II boats coming out the front of the CB trunk. From your drawing though it appears that your attachment points are wrong. The up haul line should attach to a tang on top of the front part of the centerboard http://www.drmarine.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DS108 . The down haul line attaches at the bottom front of the CB allowing the mechanical advantage to pivot the board down. There is a diagram of the attachment points on this thread on the forum viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5343 . These attachment points cause the line crossing that is mentioned. The attachment points may be the cause of your problem.

John

Your lines should cross, as counterintuitive as that may sound.

Thank you guys so much for your replies! Do you know if these originally came with the SS tang attachment on the top? This configuration makes so much more sense as the wire will be pulling from the top of the centerboard. I'm wondering if the original set up is like mine but with the wires crossed. The guy I purchased the boat from was a pretty serious sailor and I can't imagine him being content with a centerboard that wasn't working properly. Maybe he was just running it with the centerboard jammed. I'm wondering if I should try to cross the wires and see if it operates as it is or if I need to purchase the SS tang and set it up that way???? ( if it ain't broke, don't fix it )

FWIW, that appears to be a DS1 CB (square pivot hole), so whatever configuration is there to make it work on a DS2 would have been added after the fact ...

I did it! It works even better than I thought it would! After further investigation I realized that the centerboard had been compromised and I had to cut back the area that had been water logged due to wire holes not being properly covered and letting water in. I put the wire on top that raises the centerboard just behind the pivot hole from the centerboard bolt to allow greater leverage when raising the centerboard. I also decided to not use the ss tang.(the ss tang seemed like it would work but I didn't like the idea of drilling screws into the top of the centerboard) I opted for making drill holes at an angle and crimping a wire stop at the end. I then jammed them in the hole and epoxied them in place at the hole. I also epoxied the small hole where the wire came out so it would all be water tight. I used about 6 feet of wire on each so that I wouldn't have any problems feeding them through. I hope this helps people that have a similar set up! Cheers!

Additional photos.

It was a slight shot in the dark but the words of the bros on here were a huge help. Thanks guys.