Centerboard keeps coming up

[jdubes]

This past Sunday we saw some pretty high winds around Buzzards bay. I was out in what seemed like 20+ winds . The sailing was great I was hiked way out and I was getting soaked from each wave. I'm sort of a gluten for punishment, so sailed over to where I saw some even higher winds with no land protection. I wanted to see how fast I could get my DSI going down wind. So with my GPS clipped to my vest I went for it. I was going extremely fast downwind for about 100 yards and didn't realize that my centerboard came up. A even bigger puff came along and the boat hooked to the left and self tacked, It almost went over. I was able to jump to the other side and hold it down. If only I could round marks this fast when I fleet race. I recovered and went up wind and tried again. I looked down as I was going up wind, and I realized it was coming up then also. Not as much, but it would inch up when I hit a big wave. I went down wind again and my CB came up. I could not get it to stay down. It was blowing real hard on Sunday so I know that was part of the problem. I'm not against pulling up the centerboard up to make the boat faster downwind I do it all the time, I just want to control when it comes up.

Last year I bought and replaced the centerboard locking pawl. Based on how I installed it, it seems to only help keeping the CB up when I'm not sailing. I think that's how it should work. I couldn't remember if that's how it worked on my other DSI. Any thoughts? Did I not drill the locking pawl correctly when I installed it? Do i just need to tighten the handle more?

Thanks Jason

[CCaps]

Hey Jason, there were some wicked winds on Sunday, I was out on Narragansett bay and my mast snapped off! You are right about the pawl being designed to just hold up the centerboard when it is in the up position. I'd make sure your rubber gasket isn't too worn out between the handle and the plate and make sure everything is tight. The next step would be to shim the centerboard underneath the boat so it has more friction holding it in and is less likely to mover from side to side, this might help with it moving up during high winds. i epoxied some cut PVC piping to the case opening underneath the boat and this helped dramatically with the centerboard not moving and banging around in the water. good luck man!

[K.C. Walker]

Jason,

You've installed the locking pawl correctly. You might try tightening the 3 screws on the tension plate. If that doesn't give you enough friction you might have to try some alternatives. Phill Root uses a cleated line which you can mostly see in this picture:

He does not use it to pull the lever down just to hold it down. I shimmed my centerboard with high molecular weight polyethylene and it stays pretty much where I put it unless I hit bottom. It's a very snug fit on my board now.

The most important question for you is how fast did you go?

[seandwyer]

I agree with KC - the most important thing is how fast???

I also agree with CCaps. I had this same problem, so I bought a new gasket from D&R. I didn't think there was really anything wrong with the old one until I got the new one and saw the difference - the old one had been really compressed. Once I installed the new one there was no more trouble - even had to loosen the screws a bit once it was in the water because it was really too tight to lower and raise. One more thing I would suggest - my original screws on the tension plate were regular flat head screws. Personally I don't find this type of screw to be the easiest to get nice and tight. You might want to replace them with some stainless or brass screws with Phillips fittings, or even better maybe - bolts of the same size that you can get a little wrench on.

[ctenidae]

Echo everything seandwyer said. Replace the gasket and/or tighten the three screws- chances are, that'll work.

[jdubes]

That makes sense. I purchased a new bushing last year but didn't install it. The one I have wasn't leaking so I thought why change it.

K.C: Thanks for the link, I might install something like that. I've got some extra clam cleats. I'm going to replace the bushing and tighten down the bolts and see if that makes a difference. I know when I replaced the pawl that I didn't really tighten down the bolts. I didn't get a warm fuzzy when i started to tighten them so I held back.

CCaps: It was wild out there Sunday. The boat was way overpowered for the conditions. But I have to say, when I did go upwind with my CB down and my Jib trimmed, the boat pointed pretty well. And watching the water splash over the bow hitting me in the face was such a blast. I felt like Lt Dan in that fishing scene in Forrest Gump. I still haven't replaced my coamings with smaller ones, so sitting on the rail is such a treat.

My highest reading from my GPS was 12.7 mph. This was not the run that caused the self tack. With the distance I was traveling, I was probably going downwind for no more than a minute and a half. The boat powered up extremely fast. I know I was cruising because I felt a vibration and a hum coming from my feet early in each downwind run. Then it would disappear as the CB would come up. Whoo Hoo! It reminded me of J/24 I sail on that hums when it's going real fast. I could have gotten the boat up on plane if i moved forward. I didn't because any movement by me with the CB up could change the direction of the boat real quick. Also singlehanded going downwind with the Jib is a little tricky.

If i used the Beaufort scale for wind, it was like a 5 with waves.

[jdubes]

I changed the CB bushing. That with a little more tension on the bolts kept the CB down.

[K.C. Walker]

Jason, you've got to love the easy fix!

[jdubes]

Jason, you've got to love the easy fix!

You got that right, it's not often you can easily fix a sailboat.

[Sailor Chlud]

Related to this post - I see Ccap and KC modified their trunk or board for a better fit. I pulled my centerboard this weekend due to excessive banging in the trunk on my last sail. My gasket on the handle failed, so I'll be ordering from D&R as soon as they get back on the 25th. In the meantime, I'd like to reduce the play (and subsequent banging) in the centerboard trunk, and was hoping to get ideas on whether it is better to build up the head of the board or to shim the bottom of the trunk? My centerboard head measures 7/8" to 1" thick, and the opening of the trunk measures 1.5" wide. Ideas?
Sorry in advance if the post is hijacked.

[K.C. Walker]

If you want to have all of the play out of the centerboard you may need to shim at the very head of the board and at the opening off the trunk. These are the 2 bearing surfaces that matter. Pretty much anything in between those points is irrelevant. It's obviously easier to shim the head of the centerboard. I used HDPE and screwed it on. That way I could get it nice and tight but still have a good slippery bearing surface that will last. Someone suggested that contact cementing formica to the inside of the centerboard trunk works well. I would think that would be an easy way to get the fit correctly.

[jdubes]

I used HDPE and screwed it on.

KC, you wouldn't happen to have a picture of how you used the HDPE?

[K.C. Walker]

Sorry Jason, I don't have photos. I made 2 strips 3 inches wide for the top and 2 at the opening of trunk. They're all screwed to the board with countersunk flatheads. Fitting the top ones take some trial and error. The centerboard trunk is tapered top to bottom. It's easy to measure the shims for where the board exits. I did radius the front of the bottom shims because they start to protruded as you start to raise the board. It was definitely handy to have the boat careened on its side right outside the shop door.

[GreenLake]

My DS has a bolt on the side opposite the handle. I assume that's non-standard, and someone drilled and tapped the CB handle. I've never had any banging...

[jdubes]

They're all screwed to the board with countersunk flatheads.

So you attached HDPE to the CB. Take a look at this image for a question I have.