OK all you tech types out there. My centerboard is not going down
all the way and the control line (pendant) runs freely. Any ideas
on what could be hanging it up and what to do about it. Stan, are
you out there?
Jerry Stouffer
26 May 1998
How do you know it is not going down all the way?
ss/gbi
Fair question. To answer, the centerboard pendant (control line)
only runs 17 inches in total and by the last two or three inches
the centerboard feels like it is buoyant and then the centerboard
makes a dull thump. I have checked the other Rhodes in the marina
and they all use at least a yard of their lines. So what to do?
Jerry
Next fair question: Do you have a diamondboard-type centerboard or
the earlier style? I do not recall. The line on a diamondboard,
if set up on a one-to-one direct pull, goes less than 2 feet.
Did your board go down more than 17" at first? Have you noticed any
difference in sailing characteristics? If not, wait until you are
ready for bottom painting and then, with the boat in the air or the
centerboard cap off, take a better look. Of course you could always
visit us.
ss/gbi
31 May 1998
I am in the process of re-installing my centerboard. It pivots on a
1" pin and the pin is free to slide up and down in a slot in the
centerboard trunk. I would have to guess that there is foreign debris
hung up inside the centerboard trunk or the rope has jammed between
the case and the centerboard. There is nothing else in there.
Stan showed me the way the centerboard control line used to be
attached through a pulley system to gain mechanical advantage, but
mine had been changed to a simple termination on the centerboard
plate, then down to the centerboard pulley and up through the drain
line. Simple, but a little heavier than on some boats. Still no
problem with that setup and hardly a way to jam up and not come
down, but it could happen.
Alex Bell
Sounds like you will be taking the centerboard trunk apart. Someone
else will have to help you there. If you are anywhere near salt
water, when is the last time anti-fouling was used up there?
Perhaps the pin jammed and needs reseating or replacement.
MJM
I pulled the boat out of the water today and had it lifted in a
travel sling. I found that the block that is screwed to the
centerboard trunk top had one of the bail ends lose a screw and the
block slid down the control line and jammed it.
I was able to get it back together and now the centerboard works as
it should. I hope the new screw holds, if not I’ll have to open
up the top of the trunk and re-epoxy the screw holes. If it holds
this season it will make a good winter project at the end of the
season.
My boat is an ‘88 so I suspect it is not a diamondboard. I am not
so sure that the board ever went as far down as it does now. Thanks
for getting back to me but I don't think a visit will be necessary.
Jerry Stouffer
