DaySailer.org Forum

Can you measure something for me, please?

I'd appreciate it. I have a 1973 DS II. When I replaced both cables to the centerboard I forgot to measure the length of the original uphaul cable before destroying it. Now I don't know how long the replacement stainless steel cable should be after it emerges into the cuddy.

The boat is trailered with the centerboard fully retracted, so the downhaul cable is easy & done. But I can't take the boat off the trailer to drop the centerboard. I don't have the room to lay the boat on its side nor the means to lift the boat up. So I can't figure the uphaul cable.

To be clear, I'm looking for the length of cable that one sees in the cuddy (running from the block by the mast base to where it enters the centerboard trunk in the cuddy) when the centerboard is fully up.

I don't think it makes a difference, but my design has the downhaul on the centerboard trunk by the mainsheet block/cleat. The only cable in the cuddy is the uphaul.

Thank you!!

I don't have a DSII, but a quick search for "uphaul" found this post where someone mentions a length.

This is an oft-discussed topic, so there may be other, older discussions with additional info.

Thanks for the suggestion, GL. Unfortunately, no dice. I'd already spent hours searching before posting.

So - any early DSII owner willing to measure the length of the SS UH cable visible inside their cuddy while the CB is fully up? Thanks!

Years ago one person asked the exact same, but nobody answered. There are many other posts & diagrams. But they're all for CB using tangs. I do NOT have tangs, so the diagrams and lengths don't apply! My 1973 has the repurposed DS1 CB where O'Day epoxied both UH and DH cables directly into the CB body in a single location. This is a different location than a tang.

Mine is an awful design with lousy leverage that O'Day stopped using within months according to Rudy. They changed to the tang - in a different spot. Different length.

Every old post about my design is about total reconfiguration. But I'm not reconfiguring . . .

Raising the boat again, dry sailing, or laying it on its side also aren't options in my small space right now. Nor can I can launch it right now (I'm hours from water). But just knowing the exact length of the UH cable visible within the cuddy should easily solve my challenge!

If you're willing to crawl into your cuddy and measure, thank you!

And I greatly appreciate this forum as a treasure trove of info! GL is right - searching past posts answers most questions!! Love it & thanks all for a great and supportive community!

Thanks for the suggestion, GL. Unfortunately, no dice. I'd already spent hours searching before posting.

So - any early DSII owner willing to measure the length of the SS UH cable visible inside their cuddy while the CB is fully up? Thanks!

Years ago one person asked the exact same, but nobody answered. There are many other posts & diagrams. But they're all for CB using tangs. I do NOT have tangs, so the diagrams and lengths don't apply! My 1973 has the repurposed DS1 CB where O'Day epoxied both UH and DH cables directly into the CB body in a single location. This is a different location than a tang.

Mine is an awful design with lousy leverage that O'Day stopped using within months according to Rudy. They changed to the tang - in a different spot. Different length.

Every old post about my design is about total reconfiguration. But I'm not reconfiguring . . .

Raising the boat again, dry sailing, or laying it on its side also aren't options in my small space right now. Nor can I can launch it right now (I'm hours from water). But just knowing the exact length of the UH cable visible within the cuddy should easily solve my challenge!

If you're willing to crawl into your cuddy and measure, thank you!

And I greatly appreciate this forum as a treasure trove of info! GL is right - searching past posts answers most questions!! Love it & thanks all for a great and supportive community!

I’ll try to get some pics. I’m measuring 12” of cable to the block or 18” to the mast.

The required minimum length of the cable is based on geometry.

If you take the distance from pivot to top of the centerboard as a radius R, then a full circle would be 2πR. Now the centerboard only turns 90 degrees, which is a quarter turn. So you get a distance of πR/2. You can add a bit of a margin, and then you have the minimal length for the part that is on the cuddy floor.

Any shorter than that and you can't fully lower your CB. The maximal length inside the cuddy is given by the distance to the block for the 2:1 purchase. Any excess here would mean that you can't fully raise your CB.

So, the actual cable part (visible inside the cuddy) has to be in between those two lengths. The length inside the CB trunk will be different, based on where the cable is attached.