HI Folks,
I've just finished restoring a '73 fish. I ordered a line kit from West Coast Sailing, which includes a daggerboard bungee. I can't sort out what to do with it. The bag included some rubber hooks. What do I do with this thing?
Depending on its length, it either goes around the mast, or through the bow handle. If it has some tension on it you can raise the daggerboard up, and the bungee will "tilt" it forward and hold it in place.
Depending on its length, it either goes around the mast, or through the bow handle. If it has some tension on it you can raise the daggerboard up, and the bungee will "tilt" it forward and hold it in place.
Mine is long enough that I pass it around one side of the mast and loop it around the tack of the sail and then back around the other side of the mast back to the daggerboard. The stretch of the bungee then can help keep the sail out when you're on a run in light breeze.
A seven-foot piece of 1/4 inch shock cord acts as both a daggerboard retainer and a ”JC strap” that holds the sail out in light air downwind. Feed the shock cord through the handle of the daggerboard, around the tack and back to itself, going around the mast and the halyard. In terms of tension, you want the cord tight enough so that the board stays up and the sail out in light air, but not so tight that you have trouble sheeting the sail properly. The seven feet gives you a little extra cord with which to fine-tune the tension.
Mine is long enough that I pass it around one side of the mast and loop it around the tack of the sail and then back around the other side of the mast back to the daggerboard. The stretch of the bungee then can help keep the sail out when you're on a run in light breeze.
Also, the cord keeps the daggerboard near the boat when you capsize. I "now" tie the bungee well too the mast. Live and learn, live and learn. Trust me!