Fighting the centerboard while launching

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Frank C

Post by Frank C »

Chip Hindes wrote: ... If you put an extra wide board on the bunk, will you be able to drop the board while on the trailer? I was thinking maybe a piece of angle bracket projecting forward a few inches and screwed to the wooden portion of the bunk ...
I think whatever works, works. I'm partial to the wider bunk because it also means the somewhat stiffer hull section (assuming the trunk structure adds stiffness ??) would be supported on the center bunk. I've never dropped my CB, but I figured it would drop at front when the hanger is released, regardless of its tip resting aft on the bunk?

Angle section, rope, bungee - whatever works.l But I think I'll enlarge the bunks at such time as they begin to fail. Meanwhile, I try to remember to tightly cleat that CB line.
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Chip Hindes
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Post by Chip Hindes »

Without the wider bunk, if the hanger lets go (though I don't think this is a common failure, is it?), the whole thing is still kept from dropping by the cleated pendant only. 'Course, the pendant is supporting the entire weight, which it's not designed to do. If the pendant goes, the board's gonna drop.

If a wider bunk is wide enough, it seems as if the board would be held in the trunk even with a failed hanger and pendant.

I wonder, if you managed to launch the boat with a failed hanger, what happens when you unsuspectingly uncleat the pendant to drop the board? The pendant unexpectedly whizzes though your hands and gives you rope burns, so you let go. The board drops out of the trunk entirely. Then the knot in the end of the pendant catches the cleat, but the momentum of the falling board and the force on the board from the current due to your boat's forward motion rips both the cleat and the turning block out of the deck. Everything eventually fetches up against the little loop fairlead at the top of the compression post. That gets damaged as well, just before the knot on the end of the pendant breaks, everything goes overboard, and the CB sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

This is beginning to sound like some fictional disaster from the Darwin awards, so I'll stop now. :D

Seriously, here's the guaranteed best solution:

A wider bunk, notched in the center for the CB, with a plate and spacer screwed to the bunk from underneath. The plate and spacer stay in place all the time until you want to drop the CB. At that time you just unscrew it and the CB will drop right out. Don't put your face under it when you do it. :wink:
Frank C

Post by Frank C »

And, just to clarify ... assuming you leave a gap between the bunk boards that clears the centerboard, you would still install the wider bunks to spread the hull load over more surface?

And, if the wider bunk serves only to catch the last 4" of the centerboard, don't you believe the board would fall at front end when the hanger was unbolted?
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Chip Hindes
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Post by Chip Hindes »

assuming you leave a gap between the bunk boards that clears the centerboard, you would still install the wider bunks to spread the hull load over more surface?
I don't see why not, but as far as I know that's not a problem. If it were, you'd see dents in the boat from the localized overloading.
And, if the wider bunk serves only to catch the last 4" of the centerboard, don't you believe the board would fall at front end when the hanger was unbolted?
That would depend on how closely the centerboard fits the trunk. With the hanger gone, the board still has to pivot on the forward edge of the bunk; the aft end of the board has to pivot upward far enough for the forward end to drop down below the trunk; then it would slide forward off the bunk and fall out. However, if the aft end of the board hits the top of the trunk before the forward end drops out, it will remain in the trunk. The board's pretty heavy to be supported by only its last four inches, but if you are really concerned you could experiment to find out how much extra bunk you need to reliably hold the board with a failed hanger, and use a 2 x 12, 2 x 14, or mount two smaller pieces in a V, and poroject them forward of the metal bunk as far as you want.

Again, I'm not sure a failed hanger is a common problem. I was looking at it more as a means of preventing the board from getting past the bunk and dropping below it, while still permitting you to drop the board while on the trailer.
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Dimitri-2000X-Tampa
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Post by Dimitri-2000X-Tampa »

Chip Hindes wrote:That gets damaged as well, just before the knot on the end of the pendant breaks, everything goes overboard, and the CB sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

This is beginning to sound like some fictional disaster from the Darwin awards, so I'll stop now. :D
Here's an even better one, your CB pin fails while going down the road at 70 mph and somehow your CB line became uncleated before you hit the road. The front of the board drops down and kind of becomes like a pole for a pole vault, the aft end of the board pivoting up and crashing into the boat and ripping the hull out..or even worse, causing the trailer to go out of control, taking the tow vehicle with it and all becoming a massive flaming wreck toppling down the Interstate. :evil:
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Jack O'Brien
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Centerboard Vaulting

Post by Jack O'Brien »

After WWII the Filipinos converted army jeeps into passenger carrying vehicles called "Jeepneys". These have a center stern opening and bench seats along both sides. Now lavishly decorated, they are things of beauty.

I saw one where the front universal joint on the driveshaft had failed and allowed the front of the driveshaft to drop. Sure enough, it caught in a pavement crack and acted like a vaulting pole, causing the jeepney to pitchpole down the street.
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Centreboard Saga

Post by Steve Smith »

I yield my "Elegance in Simple Engineering" award to Billy for his bungee cord under the CB solution...thats it for me.

1 Safety for the CB on the road ...if you put it in the middle you could envision it protecting against either hangar or line failure

2 Adjustable

3 Cheap

4 Easy to implement ...all you guys adding new bunks and extensions - BEst to you..Ill be out sailing!!

Got on the Hudson this weekend...cold but great first day out! The Fuel injected Mercury 50 Bigfoot cranked for three revs and then purred like a kitten after sitting since November.
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Chip Hindes
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Post by Chip Hindes »

4 Easy to implement ...all you guys adding new bunks and extensions - BEst to you..Ill be out sailing!!
The bungee under the board is the answer to a secondary question. The primary question is what to do to prevent the board from slipping past the bunk during recovery and falling.

Once this happens, you can't get the board up and you can't get the boat off the trailer.

The bungee doesn't prevent this. It only prevents further damage to the board after it happens, and you still can't get the boat off the trailer.
Billy
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Post by Billy »

The primary question is what to do to prevent the board from slipping past the bunk during recovery and falling.
Chip, I know this is not a physical remedy, but I use a preventive method. I check with "MR. C" before pulling the trailer forward. (Mr. C=Motor, Rudder, Centerboard.) At one time or the other, I have advanced up the ramp with one or all of these not secured. Using this routine is simple and has reduced the amount of embarassing moments for me. (If the cb line is broken, you are going to know it.)

Like Steve, I rather sail than work on my trailer.
Steve Smith
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Launching Routines

Post by Steve Smith »

Billy - I like your MR. C (Motor Rudder Centerboard) acronym - Thanks for sharing that.

When we decided to slip Catigale last year instead of trailering her, I was concerned that my launching routine would get rusty so I thought of a new system of reminders.

We use large (4 inch) color coded clothespins with the tasks written on them with a Sharpie. They stow on a piece of 3/8 line when not in use, nice and neat.

When I launch or retrieve, I clip them to the wheel of the car, then have the kids involved taking them off as I complete each task. Cant drive away until all the clothespins are gone!

Definitely lets me launch quicker with only a single 'final walkaround' before we are off. Got the ultimate compliment with an anxious next in line powerboater at the ramp who said he was held up 30 minutes with the last sailboat launch and his heart sank when he pulled up behind us. We dont rig in the launch line of course, so we were 5 minutes to get in and clear.

It not only ensures you dont forget something, it keeps the kids ( 6 year old twin girls!) busy during the retrieval, as well as part of the learning experience!
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