Wooden Daggerboard Care

Saltydog87

Active Member
After dedicating time this spring to re-varnishing my wooden daggerboard (pretty when it was done!), I was dismayed to see my work tarnished over just one sailing season.
It was clear the leading and trialing edges were scraping against the inside of the daggerboard well when it was being held up by the daggerboard-retaining line. This must be a common issue with wooden daggerboards, as I found a reference to “feathering” of these edges in the Sunfish Bible, as well as a note of the negative impacts it has on daggerboard efficiency.

Other than switching to a plastic daggerboard, any tips on reducing this wear on the leading and trailing edges? Has anyone gone so far as to try to smooth out the ends of the daggerboard well?
 
…just came across a suggestion in the Bible of lining the well with wet-suit material. Is this still class legal? Has anyone done this? I’m not even sure what kind of adhesive one would use…
 
I use the loop side of Velcro. Holds up well, self stick and is easy to replace. On a wood board I used an inch strip on both sides of the trunk bottom, front and back. This may vary depending on the board. I also have my centerboard retainer so my board is supported so it goes up and down and not pulled forwards which pushes the trailing edge in the the back of the centerboard trunk.

You would notice a performance difference with a foil board and you would have to place the Velcro in different places because of the shape.
 
I use the loop side of Velcro. Holds up well, self stick and is easy to replace. On a wood board I used an inch strip on both sides of the trunk bottom, front and back. This may vary depending on the board. I also have my centerboard retainer so my board is supported so it goes up and down and not pulled forwards which pushes the trailing edge in the the back of the centerboard trunk.

You would notice a performance difference with a foil board and you would have to place the Velcro in different places because of the shape.

How are you setting up your retainer line? I’m currently running a shock chord around my mast, which pulls it forward as you noted - this is causing the rubbing issue on the inside of the well.
 
This holds up the daggerboard? I’ll have to try this! I’ve only been using the black line to hold down the daggerboard in case of capsize…
 
If your board had been painted previously, it takes a lot of sanding to get "past" the paint deep in the grain. One could lose up to ⅛" of board thickness! :oops:

One of my boards had been painted dark blue. :( If I'd thought of it, I could have painted both sides with a mahogany-colored spray paint. Then, allowed to dry thoroughly for days—and sanding wouldn't have needed to be as thorough.

Y'know what I mean, Vern?
 

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The Sunfish Bible recommended ‘wetsuit material’ (neoprene) on the inside of the well openings at the top and bottom. Has anyone tried neoprene weather stripping with the adhesive side? I imagine it could be cut to length.

 

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I have used a thin strip of indoor/outdoor carpeting (7" long X 1" wide) mounted fore and aft at the top of the daggerboard trunk opening (port or starboard - doesn't matter.) Attach it with contact cement. If it is too tight, use 60 grit sandpaper to sand the carpet strip thiner until you are happy with the fit. It will last for years.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 

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