Centerboard Snarls

For the second time this season, Suja's centerboard had issues when we tried to go sailing. The first time I noticed that the line that pulls the centerboard down was frayed so bad that only one thread was holding it on. Dave fixed that here at the marina dock, by jumping in the water and having Will assist him in the cockpit, all before the boat could sink. A couple of days ago while we were sailing out of the harbor, we ran aground on a shallow spot and the centerboard kicked up, giving it slack and making the line get caught and snarled around the board itself. Then it wouldn't go back down or up with either line (one pulls it up, the other pulls it down). Luckily we made it back to the sailing club beach and I was thrilled when the board seemed to pull up as we hit the sand. Boy, was I wrong! It went up so easy because that line broke. This morning, Dave brought Suja over to the deep water of the pond and jumped in to try and repeat the process he did before, when the other line needed replacing.

This time he had the expertise of Richard Woods, who he races Sunfish with, and with Richard building his own catamarans, he has plenty of experience. The two guys worked great together, but unfortunately they could not keep the line from getting snarled again when raising and lowering the board.

They ended up bringing the boat over to the tiny lighthouse beach and flipping it on its side for better access. They replaced both lines and everything appears to be working smoothly.

I guess either we better not run aground again or be sure to lift the centerboard up before hitting bottom, so no more snarls occur. I have to admit that was my job. Oops!