A $10 fix to prevent another $1,000 mistake

[LordElsinore]

While towing As You Wish back home after our last adventure, the rope holding the daggerboard up came loose from both the rope clutch and the cleat it was tied off to - I guess because of a bumpy road. I noticed this first coming back to the truck from McDonalds and saw what was left of my daggerboard hanging limply down just above the surface of the parking lot. The majority of it had apparently been slowly ground away dragging on the road during the previous couple of hours.

I hear that most of the factory trailers have a cable across that area of the trailer to prevent that. Mine came with a non-factory trailer and didn't have this, unfortunately.

Replacing the daggerboard will cost about $1,000 with shipping from BWY. Before I order one, I wanted to make sure I could prevent this from happening again. Hopefully this will encourage any of you that don't have something to prevent this already to do something similar and save yourselves from my misfortune.

I placed two pair of screw eyes into the bottom surface of the trailer bunks where the daggerboard comes down (don't drill/screw through the bunks and into the bottom of the boat by accident!) ran some threaded rod between them with nuts and washers on the ends (I will apply some LocTite to prevent them from coming off), and used a section of 1/2" PVC pipe as a sleeve or roller on that rod.



In the picture above you can see the sad stub of my once proud daggerboard resting on it when it's rope is let down. For any of you that have wanted to see what's inside the daggerboard, here is your chance. That square bit inside the reinforcement rib is squishy foam.

Here is a side view of the finished contraption. I definitely wish I had done this a couple of weeks ago

[Jimmyt]

I’m sorry that happened. Thanks for posting your solution!

[NiceAft]

You proved the old saying; “Necessity, is the mother of invention.”

[Russ]

Simple and elegant. Nice work.

Yes, my 2008 aluminum trailer has a cable under the dagger as a safety. Since everything with Macgregor was minimal, I assume it's also structural to keep the I bars from separating.

I have come back from trailering and found the dagger line was loose and the board was sitting on that cable. Without the safety, it would have looked like yours.

Interesting photo of how hollow the dagger is.

[Be Free]

Very nice! I like the fact that you used two so that if something happened both would have to fail before you "customized" another board.

[The Islander]

Appreciate the picture of your ground down board!

A few questions.

1. How many inches of the board do you think got removed by rubbing the pavement?

2. What do you guys think about that "squishy foam" that is showing in the cavity of the structure around the area of the widest section? Why would that foam be there?

[Stickinthemud57]

Appreciate the picture of your ground down board!

A few questions.

1. How many inches of the board do you think got removed by rubbing the pavement?

2. What do you guys think about that "squishy foam" that is showing in the cavity of the structure around the area of the widest section? Why would that foam be there?

I'm not the OP, but I have few answers:
1. All of them.
2. I would guess that was there to support the fiberglass around it while the resin cured.

[LakeMac26C]

Since you all seem to be forcing everyone to have a look at your undercarriages, well here's mine. I have a 26C with a swinging centerboard, but I have a similar issue that I addressed. I had a shop make some repairs to my stock steel trailer and I made a point to have them replace the cheap crossbar that was rusting out. It's the V shaped black tube steel in the pic and it also serves to catch the centerboard if the uphaul line should fail.

[March]

It happened to me, too. The 26X has two cleats on starboard side: one for the centerboard, the other for the jib sheets and I typically cleat both--just in case. However, last summer, they came undone and I dragged the centerboard, too, for several miles (it couldn't have been longer than that or I would've been left with a nub only.) I'll try to post some pics.

The centerboard has been rebuilt, but it did not cost 1000 bucks. One gallon of resin, fiberglass, and plenty of elbow grease over a period of three days. I did not put a gel-coat on top of it (firstly, who is to see>? then I bashfully admit that I don't know how to apply a gel-coat...) Spraying some white paint for appliances on top of it did the trick

I have been thinking about adding some lead, but decided against it. The metal armature would be enough, I think. Remember having read somewhere that some people added clay (or cement) ugh! Anyway, originally, the centerboard is hollow and fills out with water, right? Even if resin got into the hollow, that's OK. If the water weight/density is 1.00, the resin/fiberglass clocks at around 1.2, so that's cool. Adding more lead is not significant enough to enhance performance and balance, I would guess. It will help the centerboard descend faster, but once it is in place, the boat will "prop itself" against it

A belt around the boat and underneath will keep the centerboard in place, just in case

[LordElsinore]

How many inches of the board do you think got removed by rubbing the pavement?

Somewhere between 2/3 and 1/2 of them. What's left is two cubits worth:



But for all "intensive porpoises", it might as well have been all of them

[LordElsinore]

..although I suppose I could try and fix it with some foam and fiberglass..... hmmm

[LakeMac26C]

I have to do some reconstructive surgery on my rudder. It has some ramp/road rash from the PO. Seeing your CB repairs inspires me to fix mine. Mine is really fairly minor, but it's ugly and bothering me. I think I might just cut it off parallel to the waterline and glass the end shut. It would only shorten it by a few inches at most.

[Russ]

Wow, that's impressive work.

[Russ]

How many inches of the board do you think got removed by rubbing the pavement?

Somewhere between 2/3 and 1/2 of them. What's left is two cubits worth:



But for all "intensive porpoises", it might as well have been all of them

Oy vey!

That's looks so perfectly worn away. It must have been interesting to see the trail you left on the road.
Yea, I'd just order a new one from BWY and chalk it up as a loss. The mod you made will prevent it from ever happening again.

[Be Free]

How many inches of the board do you think got removed by rubbing the pavement?

Somewhere between 2/3 and 1/2 of them. What's left is two cubits worth:



But for all "intensive porpoises", it might as well have been all of them

I hate it when those "intensive porpoises" stick their bottle noses into my biz.