Center board construction

[CJ]

I am interested in knowing what the centerboard is made out of. Is it lead covered with glass? The reason I ask is, when unloading the boat from the trailer, a couple of weeks ago, I neglected to tell my son not to drop the C/B, he lowered the board before clearing the trailer. It got caught on the trailer and stopped the boat. Last night I took the dive gear and checked it out. The bottom edge has a little 1/4" X 1/4" nick taken out of it. Do I need to be concerned with water getting inside and causing it to split or rot?Any info is apprieciated.CJ(resident greenhorn)

 

[Ric Shultz]

glass

I have a 25 and mine is either solid glass or glass over wood. Rudy would know.

 

[David]

According to Rudy . . .

there is no wood in the original CB's. They are glass w/lead inside. I just repaired my CB. It looked like the previous owner had run into rocks, etc. There were gouges and some small cracks. My concern was that water could infiltrate during the season, and then freeze during the winter, splitting the board. I put unthickened West System epoxy in some areas and then I thickened some epoxy and completed the repairs. Good Luck!

 

[James]

Repair soon

CJ - The board is glass with a lead core. I suggest that when possible you repair the "nicks". I have a 23 and sometime last year toward the end of the season the CB split open and the lead fell out into Buzzards Bay! I still have a few things to do before I launch this year - including repairing the board - the $400+ to get a new one is just not in the budget.So I would not push it too hard- since I did not see any damage or problem last spring when we launched the boat, yet it wasn't strong enough. The comment about the water getting in and freezing is 100% correct - But I also think that the crack might open up and then the lead can simply fall out and you will be in the same position as me! Fix it or buy a replacement.Good Luck

 

[CJ]

Thanks

From all the checking I've done and the comments here, it looks like glass covered lead is how the CB is constructed on Denali. Thanks to all who replied. CJ