Could someone with a 1976 ish vintage DS II post a good picture of how the centerboard downhaul (to lower the centerboard- hopefully my terminology is correct) is routed once it comes out the top of the centerboard trunk inside the cuddy? My efforts at searching for such pictures found one showing the line coming out but that's it, and otherwise dead links.
I had my DSII off of the trailer and in the water for the first time yesterday. I wanted to check operation of the centerboard. I THINK the uphaul line is routed and functioning propertly. It is a wire coming out of the trunk into the cuddy, transitions to braided line (1/4"?) that runs through a series of blocks on the cuddy floor, and out through the bulk head and is cleated on the starboard side of the centerboard trunk. The prior owner added a few wire clamps at the joint, but it otherwise looks like I think it should.
The downhaul is a larger (3/8" or bigger) twisted line that comes up through the trunk and has a loop tied in the line with several feet of tail. This doesn't look factory. There is a sizeable eyebolt mounted through the top of the cuddy roof. I assume the prior owner connected a rubber bungie between the loop and the eyebolt (a short rubber bungie was hanging from the eyebolt when I got the boat).
I'd appreciate any guidance on how the downhaul should be rigged and what I might need to purchase to do so. That SHOULD be the last thing I need before getting the boat out on the water. I should have taken a few pictures of what I have for better clarity, but I didn't and hopefully have described enough to get the help I need. The existing bungie is too long to keep tension on the downhaul and too short to be doubled up and go back up to the eyebolt. I could find a replacement, but assumed this was not the way it came from the factory.
I swam under the boat to check the centerboard and it comes down fairly far, but not down to vertical (which I think is okay). The wire clamps on the uphaul hit the plastic grommet on the centerboard trunk, so it won't go any lower (if I need it lower) unless I remove the clamps. Is there a specific angle that the leading or trailing edge of the centerboard should be (i.e. how far down should the centerboard come?) The centerboard seems to move fairly freely otherwise (I just pulled up on the loop to deploy the centerboard) and retracts almost up into the trunk (It hung down a 1/2" or so below the hull bottom), and I didn't detect any water around the centerboard bolt, so hopefully I'm good there. I just need to rig the downhaul correctly.
Thanks for your help.