Centerboard problem

patrick303 · #1 05-31-2001

The CB on my (new to me last year)30 year old R19 has a hole in it. About the size of a nickle, and going all the way through, it''s just up from the bottom of the board, and the board is swollen/expanded, probably from infiltration. By the sound,there is some hollow area around the hole. This swelling also makes the board stick in the trunk. I raise it only so far, so I have something to pull down on, when releasing the pennant doesn''t do it. Question: can I repair the hole, (in water), or must I buy a new board? What will be the short term/long term results of doing nothing? Thanks to anyone who has any advise...

#2 06-01-2001

I can''t recall precisely how the Rhodes 19 centerboard is constructed but you can''t repair it while its still in the boat. It sounds like the centerboard is waterlogged and the fairing material is delaminated. Leaving the centerboard in the water will continue this delamination process and if the centerboard has a metal core continued exposure may push the centerboard past being restorable.

I guess the first task to planning a repair would be to determine how the centerboard was constructed in the first place. My recollection is that they had a fiberglass covered metal core (but that could be wrong).

The first step would be to remove the fiberglass sheathing where it has delaminted and to dry out the centerboard. Small delaminations can be injected with epoxy if the area can be throughly dried out. It will probably be easier to just remove the glass skin, fair up the core,and reglass the whole centerboard. You won''t know the real answer until you know how the centerboard was built and what condition the core is in.

Good luck
Jeff

patrick303 · #3 06-06-2001

Thanks for your reply. I would like to try what you have suggested. Unfortunately, the boat is now in the water. It was launched on Memorial Day. It usually stays in the water until Labor Day. Obviously I can''t remove the board while in the water. I guess I''ll see how it behaves going into and out of the trunk. From your advice, the worst case scenario seems to be continued waterlogging past repairability. Any idea how this continued deterioration will affect sailing ? In other words, if I leave it "as-is" this summer. (The hole is about the size of a nickel, and inside appears to be hollow now in about a 2 1/2/ diameter around the hole. All this is about 2" from the bottom of the board). Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it.