Do you lubricate dagger boards ?

[Franziska]

If you need to take off material inside the case where you can't reach, temporary glue sandpaper to the board and move it slowly up and down (avoid jamming it though).
Eventually the sandpaper should get passed the tight spot and open the slot to some degree.

[mikereed100]

I have put a 'collar' of 2" UHMW PE tape around the top and bottom of each of my trunks. I initially did this to keep them from rattling when under way, but it made a big difference in raising and lowering while under pressure. Sounds like your issue is that the case is too tight at the bottom, though. How much bottom paint do you have on the board? This can make a big difference when tolerances are tight. You might try sanding some off and see what happens. It's surprising how little fouling you get on the boards if you are able to raise them all the way into the trunks when not needed. The lack of light and water flow keeps them pretty clean, no need for a lot of paint.

[Franziska]

You can also replace the board antifouling with a thin film antifouling if this is not the case yet.
VC17m or similar springs to mind.
This is even more the case as the boards will probably be hardly in the water when not underway.
I also noticed that there seems to be fairly little growth in the trunks as there is only little light present. At least that's the case on ours.

One more [emoji3]
We tend to unload the board by luffing or pointing into the wind briefly when pulling it up or down.
Thats an option on a cruising boat at least.

[catsketcher]

My boards don't go up and down easily but they can be adjusted if I do the little wiggle - a quick bear away whilst pulling up or down. I built them and I curse the fact that the builder did not add wear strips - however they are silent which is very nice.

I would pull the boards out and have a look. The paint will be worn away at the high spots. Sometimes boards get thicker in the middle where extra layers of glass have been applied. Also some owners antifoul the cases a lot. I put antifoul on the board end (my ends are little looser) but only a light coat in the case. At the mooring the board antifoul seems to protect the case too as they are really close together.

Maybe you are super lucky and all you have is lots of paint under the waterline in the case. So get the snorkel and the wet and dry out and use a stick to sand it away.

If you are somewhat lucky the worn spots on the board will be paint only. Then just sand the bugger down on these areas with a something like 40-60 grit and get the paint off. Dig into filler if you have to and get it sliding. Then you can add some high build and a thin coat of paint to the needed areas.

If you can see glass at the worn spots, then things are hard. You will need to do some surgery that requires new laminations. Try hard not to go there.

So pull the boards and send us a picture. Pulling boards is pretty hard on wide cats, and yours are big so use a halyard- better yet, use a yacht club Etchell lift or a small thin monohull rafted alongside. Mine point outward slightly and require a few rude words and a physio visit to extract.

cheers

Phil

[Bean Counter]

Most likely cause then is build up of antifoul on the board or the case opening. The other issue could be moisture in the board causing it to swell. Are they timber core? Are they epoxy coated? Any cracks in the tips or leading edge?

[catsketcher]

IIRC Schionning boards have a single hardwood piece in the centre section and foam fore and aft. Epoxy glass unis over timber and DB all over.

[Morph]

My boards were built to a very fine tolerance--thank you Ross Blair--so they never rattled but at times were a little resistant to moving--the best thing I found was olive oil--extra virgin of course....