Sailmaster 22 Centerboard pin

[Bay Rat]

My centerboard pin appears to be a stainless (?) pin through the iron keel. I found it yesterday by extracting (OK....digging out) two anient wooden plugs on each side of the keel. Looking at the ends on each side, it appears shiny and uncorroded. It certainly feels solid when tapped with a screw driver end.

I can't lower te board itself because the yard blocked the boat in such a way that the last foot or so of the slot is blocked. However, I have been able to clear out much of the slot on each side by running a big, long screw driver up and down each side of the board. A good bit of rust and some old worm groth casings came out, but I can pry te board side to side now so I'm hoping it is free. I'm going to try peering up into the trunk from below with a light and get a look see at the board itself today or tomorrow.

Question: Can I trust that pin based on what iI've seen? I'd hate to imagine having to drive or drill it out.

As for my earlier comments regarding the tabernackle, I am having it repaired.

Right now, I'm in the process of trying to inspect and/or remove the through hull fittings for sink, old (original) head, and scupper. I'd like to do away with all of them (plug them up where the fittings are sound). The scuppers are forward in the cockpit; I'd rather they drained out the back, into the lazerette. By te way, the cokpit seats themselves have three small scuppers each that drain into tracks. I believe this set-up may have led to some of the coring problems in the cockpit.

[Tom Javor]

I'm far from very experienced with this design but that sounds like some sort of a modification. I looked at 3 Sailmasters and a Kestrel - all of them had various arrangements in the sides of the centerboard trunk accessable in the cabin undeneath the cabin sole. My scuppers also drain forward but not via a thru hull - they drain into the trunk for the centerboard cable.

I know I'll be following your experience with the cbd closely to see what you do withthe pin- unfortunately I need to have a board fabricated first.

[dee]

The cb pin through the iron ballast keel is the original layout on the plans. I've heard of one other boat having this pin location and I believe it is a drive out / in kind of thing. The cb has the pin hole about half way down from the top at the forward end and from there down the cb forward end is cut back at a 45 or so degree angle. I think De Noord changed the design so that it mounts inside the cabin at the top forward end of the cb and trunk with fiber glass over the bolt ends to make it water proof.

Most of the time they just need to be knocked loose from all the crud in there to get them to work. But I know I would like to know that everything is Ok... board, pin, and pennant.

dee

[dee]

Ok I'm gonna try and post a photo or three to show Sailmaster 22 center board and pin location for my boat.

Centerboard that was made from 1/2" steel plate $65.00 or so, machined to 7/16" thickness $125.00. Then I welded on two bosses 1/8" thick, (one on each side in way of the pin location). Then painted with spray galvanize paint, $10.00. If I was to do it again I would just use 1/2" plate, cut and ground to shape and only boss the pin location if it needed it and that would only be about 1/16" or less each side.


The board weighs around 65 to 70 lbs. made from mild steel and the way I purchased the steel was as 5 feet of 16 inch flat bar stock. By ordering it as flat bar stock they cut off the 5 feet I needed and charged me accordingly. Other wise they want to cut it out of a 4 by 8 sheet and the cost is higher because now they have a sheet left over with a chunk out of it. By ordering flat bar stock they have a 16 inch wide by however long left over piece which is still sellable by the linear foot. Actual measurements are 14-3/8 by 51-5/8 after I traced out, cut with a torch and ground and shaped the leading and trailing edges. The scratches in the paint are from trial fitting the board into the ballast keel.



Below is a shot of what I call the center board hanging bracket which on my Sailmaster is glassed into the top forward edge of the trunk. It looks rusty but is either bronze or copper. I think copper because it is malleable. The holes had some sort of bushing that screwed into it from each side and the bushings had a hole through them which the pin went. The bracket was punched around the bushings so they wouldn't move. I think this setup was used so that the builders could screw the bushings in to touch the cb and center it in the trunk so when it was lowered it would be plumb and not angled off to port or starboard. One bushing was gone and the other was barely there and crumbled in my hand. The pin was stainless and the cb had what was left of a bronze bushing pressed into the pivot hole. Talk about a metallurgical soup. I made a new hanging bracket out of steel with no bushings and the board has a bronze bearing bushing in it and the pin is a black iron bolt. Trying to keep all the metals close on the scale of nobility.



Shown below is the location of the cb hanging bracket after being glassed in place. More glass will go over it and after the pin (bolt), goes in, then more glass goes over that to make it water proof. The keel studs and backing plates are now polished up and sealed with thickened epoxy.



I hope this helps you guys some with your sailmasters. Sorry, I don't have any photos of my rudder on the computer. If you need anything else I'll try to help ya.

dee

[Tom Javor]

Pictures!!!! Thanks for the great post - gives me a much clearer idea of what's going on in there.