1983 Islands 17

[stanirish]

I recently bought the Islands 17 boat and removed the centerboard and had it refurbished. I have not sailed the boat yet but know that it is important to "lock" the centerboard when sailing. Not sure how to do this ? The board has two wires at it's top ; one to raise and one to secure or lock it via a cleat presumably when sailing but not sure how that can happen since the wire is at the top of the board (if it was at the bottom, that could make sense). The centerboard was easy to remove once the boat was raised in my garage and a ratchet used to loosen the bolt that the board is secured with.

Question: how do you "lock" the centerboard? Does the bolt need to be ratcheted tight after the board drops down under the boat when launched at the dock?
Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Ken Cross]

Some boats don't lock them down. If it's a heavy centerboard (such as cast iron) they need to be locked down because they can cause big damage and can make the boat turtle in the event of a knockdown. Many boats don't have a way to lock it down.
I think I'd just sail it, as we did for 9 years with our MacGregor 26D.

Ken

 

[jssailem]

With out a picture of the cockpit, the centerboard and the lifting lines it is hard to say what may be most effective.
On Lightenings, we had a dagger board. You could tie lines over the top cleated on the channel sides. On Lido 14's we had a line from the center board to the was cleated on the stern end of the centerboard channel. On Capri 18 there were cam cleats, On my Montgomery I had a cleat to holed the board up, the board weight kept it down. On a sun fish there was a bolt that ran through the channel and was snugged down through the centerboard.
Many options for a thinking owner.

 

[31seahorse]

Hello stanirish,
If you have pictures of the board and the wires as jssailem mentions members who do not sail that model might be able to help. A wire, cable, or line at the forward edge of the top of the board could be used to hold that area "up". Is there a cleat or similar fastening equipment on the centerboard trunk or nearby in that forward area? The amount of effort required to hold the board in the extended position would probably not be very large. As mentioned the weight of the board could do most of the work.

 

[SchwarckT]

Many boats don't have a way to lock it down.
I think I'd just sail it, as we did for 9 years with our MacGregor 26D.

None of my boats have a provision for locking down the centerboard.