Centerboard Lifting/Lowering

S

Skip MacLean

New Member
Hi All -

I've been sailing a group of C14's out of a club on Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, CA this summer and some of the boats' CB's don't drop well with just the shock cord tension. Is there a common rig to positively pull down the CB, as well as the standard one to raise it? On the other hand, is there a common rubbing point that may prevent the board from falling down easily when the lifting line is released?

Looking forward to reading your comments - great site and forum.

Skip.
 
Skip,

There was a thread about the shock cord not to long ago, take a look: http://capri14.org/vb/showthread.php?threadid=95

Personally, my original (1990) was so loose that I removed it and replaced it with a regular bungee with the hooks on the end. One day, I will replace it with the right equipment but like all other hobbies, I look for a quick and cheap fix and this one seems to work just fine for me, all for $2.99. It give me enough tension that the borad stays down (event when running) but loose enough that I can pull it up when needed or if for some reason it needs to swing when coming close to shore.

Good luck,

Bigsky
 
Centerboard bungee

Sooner or later, the C/B hold-down bungee will stretch out and be ineffective. They are not hard to replace. The recommended size is 4' long and 3/8" dia. Your new one will seem too tight at first, and hard to stretch out and hook up, but it will work a lot better.
 
Thanks for the quick replies -

A strong, fresh shock cord appears to be the order of the day. I am surprised, however, given some of the mods I've seen on other postings, that there hasn't been more interest in a positive down-pull(?), similar to what's used on other sailing related systems. Big-boat jib leads and running shrouds, for example both have positive pulls in both directions on some boats. Also, Sabots, rigged for racing have positive controls for almost every application! The other possibility is that these boats that I'm sailing live in the water - seawater and thus may be more prone to algae and other formations that prevent smooth, easy operation of the CB than a privately owned and well cared-for boat.

Again, thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top