John Yow Posted November 10, 2003 Posted November 10, 2003 Has anyone used 3/4" plywood for their centerboard? I have some left over from another project and there is enough for rudder and center board. It is marine fir, so I plan to glass both. John Quote
Bill Heil Posted November 11, 2003 Posted November 11, 2003 My only experience with a plywood centerboard was short lived. It was on a boat I bought and it broke on the first sail. i also tried to make a long rudder out of plywood once, years ago. it broke. Plywood is not strong enough for those kinds of applications. Bill (CS17) Quote
John Yow Posted November 11, 2003 Author Posted November 11, 2003 Bill, I appreciate your sharing your experience. In the interim, I talked to Graham who told me that it just would not work. Am I correct in assuming that you did use plywood for your rudder blade? John Quote
Bill Heil Posted November 11, 2003 Posted November 11, 2003 Yes, I did use plywood for the rudder blade and it seems to work fine. My previous experience was with a relatively long daggerboard, and there is just too much stress. Half the plies (at least) in a piece of plywood are runnign in the wrong direction to add any strength at all. My advice is always pick a designer you trust and then follow his plans. Bill Quote
barnacle5 Posted November 12, 2003 Posted November 12, 2003 I've used plywood and didn't like it very well. built another from 1/4 plate steel and it worked great. adds a bit of ballast too. just my opinion. Bill Quote
John Yow Posted November 12, 2003 Author Posted November 12, 2003 Bill, Regarding your plate steel centerboard, did you have any problems with it vibrating since it was the NACA shape? I ask because I have a piece of 1/4" stainless which is just the size of the cs 17 centerboard. I am planning to make the centerboard just as specified in the plans, but am curious about how your steel one worked. Thanks, John Quote
Spinnaker55 Posted November 19, 2003 Posted November 19, 2003 I can't find any knot free 2 X lumber here in Chicago. I was wondering if I couuld glue up 1x which I can find to get the right dimensions. Figured I can build the centerboard over the winter since I live in an apartment and start the hull in the spring. Quote
Bill Heil Posted November 19, 2003 Posted November 19, 2003 we just use lumberyard spruce, commom 2 x4s. If you go to a place where they will let you look through the pile, you usually can find a piece that is relatively knot free. often i will buy a piece much larger than I need, it is cheap, and cut away the bad parts. Small, tight knots are o.k. Follow the plans regarding grain orientation, this is important to prevent warping. you could also build the rudder in your apt. The rudder takes a lot of time, kinda finicky.. luck, Bill Quote
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