[Rhodes22-list] Replacing diamondboard pendant

[Graham Stewart]

Jesse:
I have the older centerboard so others might well have better advice.

What you suggest should work. I have never tried to do this type of work while the boat was in the water. I have always had the boat on the trailer and removed the centerboard cap - which is, admittedly, a pita. The advantage of doing it with the cap removed is that you get to inspect the centerboard for damage and check all of the blocks to make sure they are still working properly. Mine were not.

My line is 12' long. It passes through a series of blocks so that when the board is down it uses quite a bit more line than you might think. In your circumstance I would not use less than 12'. Don't overlook tying the bitter end of the new line inside the boat so that you don't pull the whole line through.

Use the same thickness of line as is currently installed.

Given that you must pass through a series of blocks the join between the lines should be strong and flexible.


If anything goes wrong - such as the line separating, you will want to have a backup plan to get the boat on its trailer while the board is down. Driving the boat onto the trailer should result in the board being lifted automatically by the keel roller but I would want to test this on your rig before committing to removing the line.

Graham Stewart
gstewart8 at cogeco.ca

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Jesse Shumaker
Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2020 9:21 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Replacing diamondboard pendant

Hi all,

My R22 was built in 1991 and refurbished in 2013 before I bought it.  It
appears that my boat has the diamondboard (rather than centerboard) with
the direct pull line.  As you can see from the attached photos, the pendant
is wearing through to the point that I'm worried about it going all the way
through so I want to replace the line before that happens.  In the photos,
I didn't quite pull the diamondboard all the way back (a little over 1"
from being fully pulled up) so you can see the fraying just before it goes
in the hole.

Today I put some goggles on, took a deep breath and dove under the boat a
few times to locate where the pendant ties on to the daggerboard.
Unfortunately, our lake water is so murky that I can't really see any
detail beyond that there is a diamondboard extending down from the keel.  I
can't even see the line, but I can feel where it ties on.

>From reading past posts regarding the diamondboard, it appears like 6 - 8'
line should be sufficient.  Does anyone recommend a specific type of line?

Here's my initial thoughts on steps to replace the pendant:
1) Remove the handle from the old pendant
2) Attach the handle to the new pendant
3) Attach the new pendant to the old pendant
4) Go below and pull the old pendant and keep pulling through until I get
to where the old and new pendant are attached
5) Separate the new and old pendant
6) Untie the old pendant from the diamondboard or cut it off
7) Tie the new pendant to the diamondboard using a bowline knot

Some additional thoughts:

There's not a lift available at our sailing club so attaching the new
pendant will be an underwater adventure.  Considering the visibility level
in the water is so low, I'll have to be doing a lot of this by feel which
means it will take longer than I can hold my breath.  I'm going to see if I
can borrow some scuba gear from another sailor at the club.

To attach the old and new pendants together, I'll use some very small line
to tie them together, or perhaps some glue and/or tape.  It doesn't look
like there is enough room to tie the old and new pendant together with a
knot and still have it fit through the hole.

I'm going to err on the side of using a longer than needed pendant line and
then cut it to length up top after it has been tied in from below.

Does anyone have any pictures of where the pendant connects to the
diamondboard?

Are there any suggestions from the group before I proceed?

Thanks,
Jesse Shumaker
S/V Zephyr
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