Centreboard maintenance

[SY Kelpie]

Hi
I'm new around here so please don't bite... I live/sail in Scotland, my boat is a S&S lift keel Deb 33, very similar I believe to the Tartan 34C. She's a great boat but the centreboard is quite an unusual thing to have over this side of the pond so I was hoping to pick the collective brains on this forum when it comes to maintenance etc.

The boat has a bolt on lead keel in which there is a slot, this houses the pivoting centreboard which is made of bronze. It pivots on a metal pin, stainless I think, and is weighted so that it is partially balanced- this reduces the loads on the wire used to lift it.

At some point next year I would like to get the boat in the slings and drop the centreboard for inspection. But I would also like to be able to do something about the noises it makes. It is able to clonk from side to side (grinding the lifting wire in bar tight helps reduce this a bit) which is annoying and presumably indicates a source of wear on the pin and/or hole. So I want to pack it out in some manner to prevent movement side to side, yet obviously still be able to lift and lower it.

Any suggestions for how I could achieve this?

Thanks

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Kelpie.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy and Welcome Aboard CF Kelpie!

Here is a link to a previous discussion on Centerboard Maintenance. In it you will find advice from some experienced cruisers.

Centerboards- A maintenance nightmare, or no big deal? [Sitemap] - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

This link is also a list of threads discussing Centerboards, in a more general way, but you will find comments in those threads regarding repair and replacement of cables and other aspects too. Just do some digging and you will find some golden answers!

https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011403...ard&gsc.page=1

[Suijin]

Centerboard knocking is a fact of life, particularly older boat, and not from wear but just from design. That said I would certainly check, and probably replace the pin, even if it looks fine as it's not something you want to have fail.

I only know one person who has tried to solve this and the jury is still out on it's longer term viability. He had some shallow oval "wings" braised on near the tip of the board so that when it is raised it is near snug in the casing. The potential issue with this is that if it's not immaculately maintained he runs the risk of jamming and being unable to lower the board.

[SY Kelpie]

Thanks for the welcome, the link to the previous thread was useful. I think CB designs must vary a great deal, so what works for one boat may not be applicable for another.

I'm very, very glad to have a bronze CB- no corrosion issues

Perhaps I am worrying too much about the clonking noises... it's a little bit irritating, but that's all, really.