Secure centerboard

Catchfraaz

New Member
Just bought a 14.2. While trailering it home, the centerboard came loose and dropped causing the road to grind away about a 3” corner by the time I got home. Couple questions….is it sailable with the centerboard missing a corner?
Second, the centerboard mechanism is confusing me a bit. Having a hard time seeing what the proper way to secure in the raised position and why it’s not swinging freely…sticks pretty noticeably going both directions.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
 
Mine stuck badly when I first got it. It had been sitting in a wooded back yard with the CB partially down. I cleaned out the CB trunk and replaced the gasket that covered the bottom of it. It works pretty smoothly once it gets wet.

Regarding the damage, it should be operational from a functional POV, but if you get water inside the CB, you will have a heck of a time drying in order to do the repair. You do not want to seal water in your CB's core. I will be interested to hear whether you repair or replace it an how that works out.

Operation: there should be a bungee from the top of the CB to the stern. This pulls it down. There is a line that runs from both sides of the cockpit through the top of the CB. That line must be cleated at both ends to hold the CB up. You can release the bungee from the stern during trailering, but gravity will still be working against you. The line that holds it up needs to be secure.
 
Freeride, thanks for that. Very helpful. I seem to be missing the stern to CB bungee. I will look into that. Where is stern attachment point.
Also, great point on water logging the CB. I will probably do an epoxy/fiberglass repair to hold me over while I wait for a one to come available for a reasonable price on eBay.

also…can anyone tell me what the grommets are for in the lower parts of both benches near the hold? SB side has a knotted bungie coming out. Port side has nothing.
 
My boat has an eye bolt in the stern beneath the rear hiking strap. I wasn't sure of the routing, so I ran a loop of bungee through the CB and a clip shackle that attaches to the eye bolt.

I think those grommets are for bungees to elevate the hiking straps. I have ignored them.
 
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My board rests on a roller on the trailer. I release tension on the line that pulls up the board while trailering. Also rub in a coat of silicone spray lubricant a few times each season to eliminate any binding. It's super easy to remove the board to do so. One other note, never allow the board to raise up high enough to cause the bungee clip to go into the housing, it can be a PITA to free that up!
 
That sounds nice aquaman. If I let my CB down, it hits the trailer axle.
But I was wondering about the tape that covers the bottom of the CB trunk. Does leaving the board slightly down cause that to assume a permanent curl?
 
If board is resting on the axle you might want to add a cushioning device there. Maybe split a rubber fernco coupler and pop it on with some duct tape. And yep it will curl out the trunk (gasket) a bit but that never was a problem. I prefer having the board resting on 2 support points rather than 1....
 
With a Cat 14.2 keel model I no longer have to deal with the centerboard "issue" but with a Tanzer 16 and then a Surprise 14 I was able to install a rubber keel roller in position on the trailers which supported the centerboard in each case. The rollers were tapered just enough for the centerboard to basically center/rest on them. I also released the centerboard pendants when trailering and tightened them only just before launching. Worked great for the years I was sailing the boats. Neither of the boats had a trunk gasket on the bottom side of the boat but the centerboard wells were also tall enough inside of the boats that water coming aboard while sailing was not an issue.
 
Even with an imperfect trunk gasket I've never had one drop of water find it's way into the cockpit, and I've had the boat up to a plaining speed many times!
 
Mine has a small hole in the top of the centerboard and matching holes in the barney post, that I can slide a metal pin through.
 

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