A little centerboard help?

Aug 23, 2014
9
Hunter 240 Stoughton
I purchased a very well used 240 last fall and am trying to get it useable. My most pressing problem is with the centerboard. On the first test float,lowered centerboard,but could not raise it. Rope felt free,it followed center board down and you could push it past top roller a little so it wasn't jammed up top. I had no choice but to load her up,on the way onto the trailer it snagged one of the centerboard bunks and busted it. Got her home,centerboard was snug- no play between board and frame-jacked and blocked her up,dropped centerboard expecting to find broken rope,jammed rope,broken pin,or something,but no real obvious problem. I downloaded the engineering drawings. My boat had the pins in the holes indicated by the drawing. My bracket had the pins in the lower holes and it seemed that the geometry wasn't right,you could swivel the bracket so the roller is stopped by the notch in the centerboard which would be the full down position.the angle of the dangle seems fairly close to right although it looks like the board wouldn't drop down as far as the owners manual shows. The real problem is the other way,the roller hits the board and prevents it from going parallel to the bottom of the boat. I re-looked at the guys very detailed post of his procedure replacing the rope on his 260. Aha! His pins were in the upper holes. I tried that on mine.complete freedom of movement both directions - but it is not stopped in the down direction by the roller. Crazy Dave,can you enlighten me? I think the four holes were there so it fits the260 & 240, but mine doesn't seem to work right in the lower holes. Sorry for the long post!
 

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Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
I was in the mountains with no phone or wifi coverage for five days. Heaven.

Can you take a photo of the inside of the centerboard housing to include either frontal or rear edge of centerboard. One thing that comes to mind could the bracket be on backwards?

email photo to davecondon@mindspring.com and in the header, put 240 centerboard. It helps me to decipher real emails from junk mail.
 
Aug 23, 2014
9
Hunter 240 Stoughton
We'll, after a long battle, I have success! Thanks for the call Crazy Dave. So, after having the centerboard in and out seven times in every combo of holes in the bracket I can tell you with some authority how the 240 must be assembled. The bottom pivot pin hole in the bracket must be used as using the upper one does not allow the board to fit into the trunk. It's about one inch too far forward in that hole. You can make the upper sheave hole in the bracket work, but you have to shorten the pin, as the channel in the trunk for the pins does not go up high enough. Also you lose the lower stop action provided by the roller contacting the shelf on the board. So you must use the lower sheave hole. On my boat the nylon cheek pads were not routed out big enough to clear the pin and bushing. I fixed that and the bracket then pivoted smoothly on the centerboard. There turned out to be an interference problem on the top edge of the board( right behind the head area) and the centerboard trunk. I took a belt sander and re-profiled the board-boom! Went right up. However there was still pressure from the support boards when I put the boat back on the trailer. I added another set of 2x6s underneath the original ones raising the boat 1.5 inches and now have clearance with the board all the way up. Sailed it yesterday and can raise the board by hand,no winch needed! Oh ,by the way my board weighed exactly 100 lbs. I really could not see any evidence of repairs or tampering with the fiberglass,but it does have bottom paint on the boat bottom and centerboard. So who knows? Maybe it was like this since new,mabe not.
 
May 8, 2013
27
Hunter 240 Indianapolis
I also want to check my centerboard setup and also change the up-haul line. Do you have any suggestions on how you elevated the H240 so you could get access underneath. If you have any pictures that would be very helpful.
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
For the cascade line or the one from the centerboard, 7/16 line only. 1/2 inch line, I told you so as it too large for the rollers. As for the other line, Purchase a 20 foot 3/8 inch line.

First tie the big turning block far back on the cascade line. Then tie the 3/8 inch line to the becket on the smaller turning block and thru the large turning block. Run that line to the deck eye strap and secure. Then run that line back and thru the small block and back toward the cockpit. YOu should have two klunking sounds with the centerboard one with it all the way up in the trunk housing and the other when fully down.

When loading on and off the trailer, make sure the centerboard is all the way up and secured. When loaded back on the trailer, relax the line so the centerboard rests on the keel tray but secure anyway but slack.

If you feel that the centerboard is being pressed down onto the keel tray fast without any movement, suggest rasing the bunk board supports insuring that the end of the bunk boards are not pointed up into the hull. First check the center bunk board supports are supporting the hull. You may have to lower the end supports or a combination thereof.

Hope this helps
 
Feb 18, 2011
315
Hunter 260 Cave Run Lake, KY
Thanks for this follow-up. I deleted my previous post- I was confused... Apparently there are 2 notches on the 240 centerboard- the upper smaller notch is the one that contacts the roller and acts as a stop. The larger notch is flush with the hull when the board is down. See photo of Ruddercraft's replacement board for the 240.
 

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