Daggerboard gone......

[solomon53]

Hi Mac Owners, Just wondered if you Guys in the USA and Canada would be interested in an article in PBO Practicle Boat Owner Magazine here in the UK...
A gentleman writes.......i have a Macgregor 26m a design where most of the stability is provided by water ballast, Tha Daggerboard is made of glass fibre,so offers little stability, and has holes in it to fill with water, avoiding buoyancy. Well recently this Daggerboard dtsappeared without so much as a bump, jar or indeed any form of warning, leaving me with two pieces of rope with knots at the end. A new Daggerboard is on order for £261. ( $400 ) but i am considering having one made from Stainless steel amd filling the bottom few inches with LEAD for extra stability, i would also add a retaining rod to prevent it falling out again, and a block system for raising it. taking these steps would obviously make the boat stiffer but are there any disadvantages.

Just wondered what you guys thought.

PS Great forum.

[March]

Blimey! If the rope failed, the CB should still be in the boot, held tight by the "fork" and the bolt. And vice-versa. This is a double whammy.
Why order a new fiberglass CB if you intend to make one of steel? That sounds like an expensive template.
The metal centerboard would work, I think. People on this forum had added lead pellets for additional weight and that makes sense. The stability you mention is not so much on account of the CB's weight, as to its rigidity, as it acts as a fulcrum while sailing into the wind. The true stability is given by the water ballast. A cubic meter of water weighs a ton, though the displacement of the water volume changes the equation.
A heavier CF won't hurt, methinks, other than adding weight when pulling the board up. You will need a wire rope--which is already a good idea even for fiberglass. It will add more "stability" in addition to the water ballast.
I'm curious about the results

[40Toes]

Blimey! If the rope failed, the CB should still be in the boot, held tight by the "fork" and the bolt. And vice-versa. This is a double whammy.

For the X, but he has a M. Daggerboard vice Centreboard.

[Divecoz]

You Have to ask yourself ( well I did anyway) How they heck did this fellow cause or allow this to happen??
There is very little strain on the D.B. Rope .. Or I am a Candidate for the Hercules award.. as I raise mine all the time with one hand while seated..
But what the heck ,as money seems to be, no object?? Do it right and have a WING welded on the bottom .. 1' by 2' x 1/4" could only add a couple hundred more to already a $1000 or more D.B.????

[Boblee]

A wing on the bottom would be a problem when beaching unless recessed.
Adding weight has been mentioned before but thought it had been discounted as hardly effective with the small amount of weight possible?
Maybe someone should suggest to this bloke that he comes onto this site after all there is no more informative site for Mac'rs.

[raycarlson]

possibly this was not the loss of his dagger board, but sounds like maybe he was the victim of a theft by someone .

[Highlander]

I'd put it too abuse forcing the D/B up with the winch say instead of easing off to release the side pressure first then raising by hand , trling with it in the up possition not letting it rest on the safety cable while trling then cleat a peice of rubber zip-tied over the cable keeps it from marking the D/B
sounds like abuse with lack of regular maintinace & inspection, is always poss it was a defective D/B with not enough meat on top where the D/B lift & safety lines are connected !!
Here's a pic of the top of my D/B


Would really not take much to pull it apart if one was forcing it up with a winch while heeled over with all the side pressure still on it that would be acting like a brake stopping it from going up !!

J
PS how old was this boat

[Québec 1]

I'm on my second dagger board now and I damaged my 1rst board once and destroyed it once. I have never lost my complete dagger board but have lost half of the side of 1 dagger board by hitting a piece of concrete at low tide at 6knots and what was left of the board remained firmly and uselessly attached to the boat.

For what its worth I don't really see the big deal cause I can still safely motor and sail (sort of) without the centerboard , unlike most other sail boats who sink when they hit old submerged cement dock pilings at low tide.

and I can afford to pay the replacement DB cause my maintenance costs for this boat are basically zilch!

This was my first break which I actually repaired. I destroyed it a year latter !

This year a sailboat hit the same cement dock piling at the entrance o f our marina at low tide and it ripped his keel off the hull on one side. His boat is a write off, mine isn't and that's the beauty of this forgiving hull o'mine.
Q1

[Highlander]

Bertrand
Thats what I call being reckless !!!

You'd better show me where that cement block is next time I'm up as I would not want to be seen as reckless as you !

J

[Québec 1]

Bertrand
Thats what I call being reckless !!!

You'd better show me where that cement block is next time I'm up as I would not want to be seen as reckless as you !

J

I was wondering if you were going to find it when you were over last summer
I didn,t want to spoil your pleasure
Q1

[mastreb]

Bertrand
Thats what I call being reckless !!!

You'd better show me where that cement block is next time I'm up as I would not want to be seen as reckless as you !

J

More like "wreck-less"

[Québec 1]

[

More like "wreck-less"

[Divecoz]

Why? It would be, flat against the bottom of the hull or nearly so? I have beached my boat and I have not, I dont believe, beached it, beyond the mid / half way point? But say it sets just low enough to make the difference of the curvature of the hull ? Thats what an inch two at the most? Gentle unto the beach and with 50 of more HP, could you not back that off and out of the sand? I ask because I do not know. I can only speculate.
I do know I was very gentle beaching my boat..

A wing on the bottom would be a problem when beaching unless recessed.
.

[Divecoz]

Has anyone ever made a D.B. out of stainless? Might I assume....? I could pull mine and take measurements and reproduce it out of sheet S.S.? Add a couple of interior ribs for strength? What about weight? Depending on the thickness it might well be very light? Adding weight? Is there an issue with pouring hot lead into a SS vessel? Is there an issue with dissimilar metals...aka lead and chrome? With a small wing would we still need for the D.B. to be heavier than stock? How much heavier than stock? Might 10 or 15 pounds of extra weight make enough difference to be profitably noticeable? Might you still have it ported for water ballast above the permanent weight, in the bottom?
What would the design of the wing have to be ? Flat? Arched ? Convex or concave? Angled with the nose down?
Does the use of SS eliminate a built in safety factor for running aground? ( Hull Damage? )
Should we / I / someone start a thread to kick this around?

[C Striker]

If memory serves me right, Jack Sparrow has a wing on his, and recessed to boot. When in doubt, check out the mod master!

Wow! A marina charges an arm and a leg to use their dock. And there is a boat sinker waiting at the entrance? This doesn't shock anyone besides me? I have zero experience with marinas, and don't think I ever want any after reading this.

E.C. of the Striker