[Rhodes22-list] on the water replacement of diamondboard pennant line

[Jesse Shumaker]

As noted in some prior posts, my diamondboard pennant line was starting to
wear through at the point where it was cleated while the diamondboard was
pulled up.

My R22 is a 1991 that was refurbished in 2013.  This vintage has the
diamondboard pennant line that runs straight through without any blocks
involved.  After it was replaced, I measured the old pennant line and it
was 53" from the knot on the bottom to the knot above the handle.  For a
replacement line, I purchased a 25' (much longer than needed - more on that
in a minute) length of 1/4" Paracord.  It appears to have a very durable
jacket and plenty of strength.  We'll see how it holds up.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018XZYFK4

In order to avoid removing the diamondboard cap and replacing the line from
above while on the trailer, I took the following approach on the water this
morning and it worked well.  It requires SCUBA gear, or more lung capacity
than I have to hold my breath.

   - Extend the centerboard using existing centerboard line to hold in
   place at an extended position
   - Put in place a bridle using a line that goes from the fairlead and cam
   cleat on one side of the cabin, run it under the boat and under the
   diamondboard back up to the matching cam cleat on the other side.  SCUBA
   person checks the placement of this bridle line.
   - Put some extra tension on the bridle line to lift the diamondboard a
   few inches so that you have a few inches of slack on the normal diamonboard
   pennant line.  I put on a couple of vice grips on the diamondboard pennant
   line just where it comes out of the hole as a safety measure in case the
   bridle slipped.
   - I had to cut the pennant line at the knot above the handle because I
   couldn't get the knot untied.  At this point, I was committed making this
   replacement project work.
   - Remove the handle from the line
   - Sew the top end of the old line to the bottom end of the new line
   together (end to end) using normal needle and thread
   - SCUBA person pulls on the old line underwater and this pulls through
   the new line.  My pennant line just had a stopper knot and the SCUBA guy
   could pull that through and keep pulling enough extra line through so he
   could bring up the old line to the surface so we could see the stopper
   knot, all the old line and where it attaches to the new line.
   - Cut the thread that joined the two lines, and tie a stopper knot in
   the end of the new line.
   - While the SCUBA guy goes below to make sure the line runs through,
   person in cockpit pulls back out the new line until it is to the point of
   tension
   - Thread the handle onto the new line
   - Tie on a stopper knot above the handle, leaving a the same amount of
   extra line that was there on the old line (since we had pulled the
   diamondboard up a few inches to give extra line to work with).
   - Test raising the diamondboard.
   - I left a longer tail on the new line and wrapped it around the handle
   number of times before cutting it so that if I need to make some
   adjustments in the future I have some extra line to work with
   - Once satisfied that everything is tied properly and at the appropriate
   length, remove the bridle.
   - Job done, thank your SCUBA friend for helping!

I attached a few photos.

Jesse Shumaker
S/V Zephyr
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