Centreboard bush C17

[smacrae]

Couldn't find anything on this using board tracker even going back the full 6142 years - I guess Noah isn't registered on this site!

The plans specify an epoxy filled hole drilled out to take the pin. Presumably this does the job well enough. Anybody have any observations on this?

I have read about epoxy soaked ropes attached to the leading edge of centreboards. It appears this is to harden the edge and to make repairs easier. I have made my board from extremely well seasoned spotted gum that is too hard to nail. My thought is that with double glass on the leading edge it will be robust enough to take any normal knocks. Any dings in this edge should surely be no harder to fix than those in the epoxy rope. Any comments?

With thanks

[Charlie Jones]

The epoxy filled pivot works very well. Use a very heavy silica mix. Makes a bushing that is extremely hard.

On the rudder and CB I like to use a round file to cut a groove along the lower leading edge and bottom edge. Then I take strands pulled from roving, twist them together about the size of a standard pencil and epoxy that in. Then I glass over that. I wind up with at least three layers of glass at least on the leading edge and bottom.

Your hard wood with double glass should be pretty tough. Depends on what kind of bottom you may be bumping things against. Here, we have lots of oyster shell reefs and some shell beaches, so I build accordingly.

[PeterP]

I got the rope-in-the-centerboard/rudder-trick from Tom Lathrop. He told me to use leftover braided line. It takes epoxy very well and does not go rock hard when cured. Mine has held up extremely well over the years.PeterP

[Tom Lathrop]

I take responsibility for the epoxied line on the leading edge of foils. I had our Bay River Skiff centerboard hit a rock at full speed in a lake in Ontario. Hit was hard enough to strip the outer braid off the cleated hold down line. No repairs necessary, only a minor nick in the paint. Had the same thing happen on the daggerbord of a 26 foot sailboat under power in our creek when I hit what was either an old engine block or some other long lost kind of mooring anchor on the shallow bottom. Brought the boat to an immediate stop. Had an epoxy soaked piece of dacron line on both leading and trailing edges of the DB. No damage whatever.

I have a leftover piece of the line laying on my workbench. I envite unbelievers to hit it with any of several hammers. I also put this epoxy soaked line on the bow of suitable boats.

[smacrae]

Thanks for the replies.

The bottom I'll be bumping into will be the Great Barrier Reef and perhaps Australia.

I'll definitely use the epoxy rope on the leading edge of my rudder, but I'll let the spotted gum handle the reef alone.