Making new daggerboard from scratch?

DanielF

Member
What would be the feasibility of making a new daggerboard from scratch? I have a little experience making wooden airplane propellors and as such am very familiar with the concept of forming an airfoil.

I want to do this to revive my current daggerboard, put a hole in it for the bungee, coat it white, etc. without destroying its originality. Basically make something like the new style. It can't be too different from laying up a butcher block table (or is it one piece?) and carefully crafting an airfoil, right?

I can get rough sawn hardwood of any common type from a local guy who sells it at $10 / 10 ft. I'm talking about an inch to an inch and a quarter thick, twelve to fourteen inches wide and having been dried for many years. I've used his lumber in the past, and it has worked out great.
 
Fantastic! Thank you both! I will see about acquiring a piece of mahogany. Once it's shaped, I would simply need to coat it with a marine finish or paint, correct, i.e. no glassing?
 
If you search the Forum, you will find that there have been other threads on building a wooden board. I am not a woodworker, but my understanding is that the preferred wood comes from the 'mahogany' family. Unfortunately, it's expensive. But if you take the time and effort to make a board yourself, it might 'pay' to use a decent wood, so it will stand up.

On the other hand, if you watch the For Sale section, you might be able to pick up a used board for a reasonable price.
 
I would stick with the solid mahogany instead of plywood, even if it is marine plywood. I made a "new style" shaped daggerboard patterned after the real thing. I laminated three pieces of mahogany together (edge glued, biscuit joints) using polyurethane glue. Then varnished everything. So far no problems. If doing it again I would just start out with a solid piece of wood, less labor. I don't have a lot of fancy tools so I used a belt sander to shape the leading and trailing edges using 60 grit paper. I mark the distance from the edges as to how far to taper and mark the centerline on the edges. I then sand to those marks. I then finish with 120 grit paper and an orbital sander, then go to 220 before the varnish work.
 

Back
Top