Centerboard - problem keeping it down !

[Bob_Sievers]

I sailed my Capri 14.2 for the first time on Saturday and had a big problem keeping my centerboard down. The bungee cord that is attached doesn't seem to have much tension in it. I tried tying a knot in it to take up some of the slack but it didn't do much good. The water near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay are shallow so I need to have it be able to come up when necessary. Is there any down side to increasing the strength of the bungee cord or are there any other tricks I should know about ?

 

[regularman]

The bungi is probably just weak. Replace it with a stronger one. Just dont make it so strong you can't pull it up with the line when you need to.

 

[paulsheller]

I don't know the exact amount of tension, but my bungee takes a lot of strength to hook it up to the eye in the stern. If it is easy to hook up, it is not strong enough.

 

[ritzpro]

My boat is old enough that not only is the bungee weak, the clips on both ends have come off. Just as well. I tied one end to the centerboard with a bowline, ran the bungee around the barney post just beneath the swivel, and then tied it back on itself with a rolling hitch. That way I can adjust the tension. Also, it gets the bungee out of the way of the rear of the cockpit, and frees up the padeye for a stern line that I use for docking.