Widgeon dagger board

[williamsisland]

Just acquired an O'day Widgeon. Been in storage for 25 years. Good condition after I cleaned out all the dirt and mice droppings.
Everything works but cannot figure out how to raise the dagger board. We lifted the boat onto the trailer with straps and a tractor but had to tie a rope around the boat to prevent the dagger board from falling down. I cannot find any rope or other mechanism that pulls up the dagger board. Just the metal lever with a stop dog at the bottom.
Can someone enlighten me?
Thanks

 

[Bryanx]

You may want to give Rudy a call at D&R Marine (drmarine.com for the phone #). He's got all parts for various centerboard configurations used over the years.

I'm in a similar situation with my newly acquired 1983 Widgeon. Mine uses two ropes (no handle), to raise/lower the board. One of the ropes is broken at the edge of the board and the knot is epoxied and fused into the board, so trying to chisel it away or use a router to open up the recess. If anyone reading this has better suggestions, I'm all ears.

 

[Sunbird22358]

Is this boat a WIDGEON? or an O'DAY 12? Widgeon is a sloop (main ans jib), O'DAY 12 is a Cat-rig (just main sail).
The Dagerboard on the O'DAY 12 shouldn't be hard to raise/lower and if it is not lowered..it will be sticking up out of the top of the DB trunk. The WIDGEON has a pivoting centerboard, not a daggerboard, but if that is what you have, and it sounds like it is (A daggerboard wouldn't have a metal lever to raise/lower it). to tighten the CB pivot to reduce it's tendancey to drop, there are 3 screws on hte triangle plate that holds the lever in place, if you tighten them (be carefull not to break them off!) it will increase the friction on the pivot.

Is there a rubber gasket between hte lever and the side of the centerboard trunk? There should be, and if it is missing that will cause the CB to pivot too easily (and leak like a sieve if you put the boat in the water!). Rudy at D&R Marine sells those gaskets and anyother parts you may need www.drmarine.com

I used to own a 1969 WIDGEON and she had this centerboard setup, so go ahead and ask me any questions. I have also created a pretty comprehensive Owners Manual for the Widgeon that covers a lot of this info including pictures/drawings.

I've included a few below, both of the lever-operated CB and the later line-operated CB. I should add that the Widgeons that Rudy had built in the early 1990s to early 2000s' also used the lever.

 

[Bryanx]

Sunbird22358, thanks so much for your reply.

My boat is definitely a Widgeon (main and jib). It's a 1983 so your third diagram is a perfect match to my configuration. Now I realize that I mounted it all wrong: reversed the holes for up and down and wasn't using the block. I actually thought the block, along with the third cleat on the mast) was for the boom tie-down. Will reconfigure it tomorrow.

So now I have a new question: How do I secure the boom to keep it from floating up?

Second question: Is it possible to get a copy of your manual? I have a short 4-5 page instruction booklet from the 1960s version but it's very superficial.

BTW, I was able to repair the rope on the centerboard by grinding away the epoxy and old rope with a Dremel-like tool. I inserted the rope and coiled it up, using some metal cleats to hold it together (a knot would have been too wide). Then I used silicone sealant to fill it in. Hope it holds!

 

[Sunbird22358]

The boom is held down by a downhaul. That cleat on the aft side of the mast is for the downhaul. Don't feel bad about not having the CB lines right, one owner who is local to me, ordered the manual but still couldn't get his CB to go down...... He called me and asked if I could take a look at it. Well ,I did and had it fixed in less time that it took to drive the 3 miles or so to his house..... somehow a previous owner has run hte lines so that when he pulled the line to raise the CB...... it also pulled the line that pulls the CB down! A quick re-rigging ans everything worked OK.

For more info on my Manual, contact me direct (click on my screen name). I need a mailing address and ask for $15.00 to cover printing and postage (sorry but it is worth it, I include scanned copies of all the Widgeon Brochures that I have [don't have 1983 at this time unfortunately], plus include a lot of drawings and pictures that will be a lot more up to date than the ones in that 1966 version, which actually would have been almost perfect for my Widgeon [I got a partial copy of that one several years after I sold my boat!]) Rudy at D&R charges $10 for just the rigging diagram, that I have, with text on the back side. My Manual is that text, expanded to cover all widgeons (1962-2004) and with added diagrams, both created by me and that Rudy gave me.

 

[williamsisland]

Sunbird and Bryanx. Thanks for this info. I would go out and look at my boat but it is a nasty thunderstorm here in Maine. This is a Widgeon and it is a centerboard. I forgot my sailing terminology. My sailfish had a dagger board (years ago now).
There are not lines coming up anywhere from the centerboard. But when the rain stops I will go out and get some photos of what it looks like.
How do I tell the year of the boat? There is an ID tag just aft of the bow, inside. I can get numbers off of that. I know with boats now the last two digits of the serial number is the year of the boat. Is it the same with these old boats?
Maybe I can email photos to you for some assistance. Though I have had trouble in the past trying to post photos on these sites.
Thanks.

 

[williamsisland]

OK, braving lightening strikes and heavy rain and with CG escort I was able to take some photos. The ID tag reads 20958 Class #1452
I have photos which I can send via smart phone if you have a number to send them to.
There are no lines anywhere on or aft of the centerboard housing. There is a square bolt head in the deck about 4-5" beyond the centerboard housing.
There is a hole on each side, near the top of the housing.
I do have the lever on the starboard side near the front of the centerboard housing. It moves fore and aft about 4" and it has a locking dog at base of the front.
The boat is on a trailer so the centerboard is not really movable at this point.
Thanks.

 

[Bryanx]

williamsisland,

You should be able to figure out the year of your Widgeon via the hull ID number. Check out: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm

I'm relatively new here and still learning about the Widgeon myself. Sunbird22358 has been a great resource, also Rudy at D&R Marine. Actually, everyone on this forum is helpful so you're in good hands.

My Widgeon is going for her maiden voyage (under my sail, at least) by the weekend, depending on weather. I'm still waiting for Rudy to send me a tiller so I am using some stock pine from Home Depot for now. Going to sail in a medium sized lake in Connecticut so should be pretty safe!

 

[Sunbird22358]

Your boat is too old to have an O'DAY issued HIN, if your CB operated by a lever that means she was built no later than the 1970 model year and the HIN wasn't used until the 1973 model year and later. The fact that you have a metal plate with 2 numbers on it futher proves that. The 2 numbers are Hull# and Class#, the Hull# refers to total O'DAY boat production (my 1969 Widgeon was Hull# 22698, meaning she was the 22698th total O'DAY built) Class# refers to how many Widgeons (mine was Class# 1791 or the 1791st Widgeon built). There is no real iron-clad way to determine model year on the 1972 and older boats, but you can get a very rough clue by comparing your hull# to other O'DAYs where the Hull# and the model year ARE known. From your telling me that the hull# is 20958 and class# is 1452, I'd estimate a model year of late 1968 to early 1969. The 1968 date seems most likely.

Stay dry, I'll add a few pics from my Widgeon Library! The Blue boat shown close up is my old boat, and that is me....25 years ago sailing her!

There won't be any lines to control the CB, the Lever does it all (see my drawings above). That square bolt head aft of the CB trunk is the drainplug to allow you to drain water out of the boat while beached or on the trailer, nice if you store her outside uncovered and it rains. Don't remove while boat is in water....... kind of obvious, but worth stating? I used to wrap a bit of white teflon plumbing tape around tha plug before threading it in to seal it better.

 

[williamsisland]

Your boat is too old to have an O'DAY issued HIN, if your CB operated by a lever that means she was built no later than the 1970 model year and the HIN wasn't used until the 1973 model year and later. The fact that you have a metal plate with 2 numbers on it futher proves that. The 2 numbers are Hull# and Class#, the Hull# refers to total O'DAY boat production (my 1969 Widgeon was Hull# 22698, meaning she was the 22698th total O'DAY built) Class# refers to how many Widgeons (mine was Class# 1791 or the 1791st Widgeon built). There is no real iron-clad way to determine model year on the 1972 and older boats, but you can get a very rough clue by comparing your hull# to other O'DAYs where the Hull# and the model year ARE known. From your telling me that the hull# is 20958 and class# is 1452, I'd estimate a model year of late 1968 to early 1969. The 1968 date seems most likely.

Stay dry, I'll add a few pics from my Widgeon Library! The Blue boat shown close up is my old boat, and that is me....25 years ago sailing her!

There won't be any lines to control the CB, the Lever does it all (see my drawings above). That square bolt head aft of the CB trunk is the drainplug to allow you to drain water out of the boat while beached or on the trailer, nice if you store her outside uncovered and it rains. Don't remove while boat is in water....... kind of obvious, but worth stating? I used to wrap a bit of white teflon plumbing tape around tha plug before threading it in to seal it better.

Sunbird. Perfect. I have a good understanding now. Lever is fixed to centerboard so straight up is up and 90 degrees back is straight down. Easy enough and makes sense now with it on the trailer. Thanks for the info on the drain plug. I will pull it now as it is on the trailer and this way it will stay drained.
I found two other "drain" plugs on the boat. Both the rubber type with T handle that expands the rubber. Took both out but neither drained anything. One is at the base of the back seat and the other in fore section of the centerboard housing. What are these holes for?
This Widgeon is in quite good condition. It has two minor cracks in the fiberglass when there mast drops through the cross bar. I will grind this out and re-epoxy with some fiberglass material.
I think I should get your copy of the rigging plans, etc so I know how it goes together. Seems to have most everything there but that short piece of rope or wire that goes across the back that the rear of the boom travels on. I saw that in a photo somewhere.
Glad to see you are a fellow Sox fan though this year there isn't much to get excited about, only frustrated.
Sounds as if I should take the lever off and figure out the gaskets and then order a set from the guy you mentioned. Our cottage is on Williams Island in W. Bath, ME so a leaking boat out there would be problematic. Easier to fix her in my shop where I live in Kennebunk before I bring it out to the island for the rest of its life.