Cleating the centerboard

[Barry1957]

My 1978 DSII centerboard operates via a pulley system rather than a lever arrangement. [See Pic]The cleat is a "horn" cleat that proves cumbersome when it comes to trying to make adjustments quickly. Has anyone rigged a substitute type of cleat that is faster to use and can handle the strain?
Barry

 

[Joe11688]

My 1978 DSII centerboard operates via a pulley system rather than a lever arrangement. [See Pic]The cleat is a "horn" cleat that proves cumbersome when it comes to trying to make adjustments quickly. Has anyone rigged a substitute type of cleat that is faster to use and can handle the strain?
Barry

Barry,
It's hard to tell by that picture if you have a regular horn cleat or a jam cleat.
I have a regular horn cleat for my centerboard and when my centerboard is down, I just take about three wraps of the line around the cleat. That way, I'll know at a glance that my board isn't up into the keel slot before I get ready to moored my boat. If it's one thing I dread, it's forgetting to pull my centerboard up after I've left the boat on the mooring. The board could dig into the mud at low tide and cause damage to it.
So with that said, if you have a regular horn cleat you may be able to change it to a jam cleat which looks very similar to what you have but it has a longer horn with a narrow clearance on one side of the cleat to enable you to just take a single wrap of the line and lock it in with a half wrap.
Last spring I installed one of these jam cleats near my stern rail for snubbing off my roller furler drum control line and I like it a lot. I can't guarantee that the holes would line up but once you've installed it, I thing that you're going to like it because it allows you to fine tune the pendant line with just a single wrap.
I've found that these jam cleats need to be mounted at an angle such as the placement of the cleat on your boat in order for it to work.
I wasn't able to do that on my boat because the combing isn't wide enough on my boat where I place it, but I've been able to get around that problem by wrapping the rope around the cleat counter clockwise I think.
On your boat, the cleat's long horn would be pointing toward the rope.
The good thing about this particular cleat is that you can secure it in the same fashion as a regular horn cleat if you choose to do so.
A cam cleat is another way to go, but I think this type is better. Here's some pics of mine. These cleats are a bit pricey if you buy new but I was able to buy this one used in a marine consignment shop in Newport RI for only $2.00.

 

[Sunbird22358]

I have considered a camleat for my CB lines, On the DS II (for those who don't have one) there are 2 lines (well, actually it is a looped line) to control the CB. One pulls the cb down, the other pulls it up. When sailing one usually cleats the downline to keep the CB down (unless in shallow water, when the line needs to be free to allow the CB to kick up) the standard cleat is, as Barry says, a standard, horn cleat (not a jamcleat, you DON'T want a jamcleat since it could.....well, jam.) and the same cleat is used to tie off both lines.
I have thought about switching ot a camcleat, but with that...if I get into shallow water, there may be too much tension on hte downline to be able to release it. I discussed this with another DS owner (he actually had a DS III) and he mentioned a camcleat that will release at a preset pull. It would hold the CB down, but would release if I hit bottom. I never got to look into that yet (was out of work at the time, no $$) but it is a possible idea.
My other thought (still has the problem if I bottom out) is a double camcleat, these have 2 camcleats in tandem, 2 swinging cams that press against a single fixed post in the center. The Harken 412 is one (not cheap! $85.00, I guess that is why I never converted to that!).

I have a good way of tying off my CB lines, hard to describe.....easy to do. If the CB is all the way down, I loosely tie the downline ot the cleat to hold it down. If the CB is partway up/down, I tie off the up line first, then loosely tie the downline on top of that (same cleat) that way if I get into shallow water and the CB hits, I can simply release the downline and it can kick up. I moor the boat with the CB slightly down, I raise the CB until the block on the up cable is about 9" aft of the mast (Cb is then hanging down about 12-18") and tie it off. I then snug the down line to keep the CB in that position and cleat it off on top of the up line. (If you have a DS II or III, you can picture this, if not...sorry!) I find that my boat sits better to her mooring with a bit of CB exposed.
While sailing, I find that I will tie the downline to the cleat by wrapping hte line around the aft (or lower) horn of the cleat, then around the forward side, then twist the line to hitch the line on hte aft horn. (I think? writing this from memory....... will have to visit my boat to really tell ,and the CB is out of the boat with the lines unrigged at the moment!). I'ved included a picture........not sure if it helps. (I color-coded the lines to clarify) I don't fiddle too much with CB adjustments, one reason is that while sailing the side pressure of the water tends to lock the CB in position, so I need to round up into the wind and let the pressure release bevore I can move the CB. That is more cumbersome to me than hte cleating arrangement.
I've also included a diagram showing the 1977-85 DS II centerboard control lines for reference. (helps non-DS II owners understand our boats)

 

[Joe11688]

I have a self rescue clam cleat attached to the under side of my O'Day 222s tiller, which is used to cleat off my tip up rudder blade pendant line and hold it down. This clam cleat has a built in fare lead. If I ground out my rudder blade, the line is certain to jam, but I've always been able to release it in time before my blade or my tiller can get damaged. Sometimes this line would slip in the cleat causing the rudder blade to come up a little. The only way that I found to cure that problem was to take the line and put a half hitch around the metal stud on top of my tiller which is used for my autopilot.
They do manufacture a fare lead clam cleat that is designed to tip up under load. In fact, you could probably make one just similar to it after viewing a picture of one.
The only problem is, I'm not sure if this cleat will operate upside down or on the side of your centerboard case. All I can tell you is experiment and find out what will work for you. My set up works for me but I need to be vigilant because if I ground out my rudder, the pendant line will definitely bind.

Years ago I let one of my friends take the helm of my boat in a YC race while I manned the Gennie sheets. He steered into shallow water and the rudder grounded out which caused my tiller to split in two. I suppose that our speed plus the combined weight of myself plus he and his wife contributed to the demise of my tiller but they were so used to sailing O'Day daysailers that I don't think they gave a thought to steering into shallow water with my boat. Anyway, check out this link.
http://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/clamcleat/auto-release-jam-cleats-for-sailboat-21639-83782.html Compliments of Nautic.

I have a book entitled "Single Handed Sailing" by Richard Henderson that also shows you how to construct one of these flip cleats. Your town library may have this book. Good luck guys!
Joe

 

[Barry1957]

Double cam cleat

A double cam cleat sounds like a workable solution. Wonder who makes one that provides for an "auto release"? Only other concern: Since the centerboard housing is obviously limited for space, will fasteners for the double cam cleat penetrate too far into the CB housing?

I have considered a camleat for my CB lines, On the DS II (for those who don't have one) there are 2 lines (well, actually it is a looped line) to control the CB. One pulls the cb down, the other pulls it up. When sailing one usually cleats the downline to keep the CB down (unless in shallow water, when the line needs to be free to allow the CB to kick up) the standard cleat is, as Barry says, a standard, horn cleat (not a jamcleat, you DON'T want a jamcleat since it could.....well, jam.) and the same cleat is used to tie off both lines.
I have thought about switching ot a camcleat, but with that...if I get into shallow water, there may be too much tension on hte downline to be able to release it. I discussed this with another DS owner (he actually had a DS III) and he mentioned a camcleat that will release at a preset pull. It would hold the CB down, but would release if I hit bottom. I never got to look into that yet (was out of work at the time, no $$) but it is a possible idea.
My other thought (still has the problem if I bottom out) is a double camcleat, these have 2 camcleats in tandem, 2 swinging cams that press against a single fixed post in the center. The Harken 412 is one (not cheap! $85.00, I guess that is why I never converted to that!).

I have a good way of tying off my CB lines, hard to describe.....easy to do. If the CB is all the way down, I loosely tie the downline ot the cleat to hold it down. If the CB is partway up/down, I tie off the up line first, then loosely tie the downline on top of that (same cleat) that way if I get into shallow water and the CB hits, I can simply release the downline and it can kick up. I moor the boat with the CB slightly down, I raise the CB until the block on the up cable is about 9" aft of the mast (Cb is then hanging down about 12-18") and tie it off. I then snug the down line to keep the CB in that position and cleat it off on top of the up line. (If you have a DS II or III, you can picture this, if not...sorry!) I find that my boat sits better to her mooring with a bit of CB exposed.
While sailing, I find that I will tie the downline to the cleat by wrapping hte line around the aft (or lower) horn of the cleat, then around the forward side, then twist the line to hitch the line on hte aft horn. (I think? writing this from memory....... will have to visit my boat to really tell ,and the CB is out of the boat with the lines unrigged at the moment!). I'ved included a picture........not sure if it helps. (I color-coded the lines to clarify) I don't fiddle too much with CB adjustments, one reason is that while sailing the side pressure of the water tends to lock the CB in position, so I need to round up into the wind and let the pressure release bevore I can move the CB. That is more cumbersome to me than hte cleating arrangement.
I've also included a diagram showing the 1977-85 DS II centerboard control lines for reference. (helps non-DS II owners understand our boats)

 

[Sunbird22358]

Only other concern: Since the centerboard housing is obviously limited for space, will fasteners for the double cam cleat penetrate too far into the CB housing?

Good question, you might need to mount the double-camcleat to a plywood (or metal) plate and then attach the plate to the CB trunk using the original holes? I used to have a good idea of the dimensions of that double camcleat...... time has fuzzied that memory!

 

[Joe11688]

Only other concern: Since the centerboard housing is obviously limited for space, will fasteners for the double cam cleat penetrate too far into the CB housing?

Good question, you might need to mount the double-camcleat to a plywood (or metal) plate and then attach the plate to the CB trunk using the original holes? I used to have a good idea of the dimensions of that double camcleat...... time has fuzzied that memory!

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/cleats/sd002570/index.htm

 

[Sunbird22358]

Joe, the link that you provided shows how to use this cleat on the side or underneath the tiller, seems same advice would work for the CB on a DS II (or the line for your rudder?).