Centreboard

[aptanet]

I have just removed the centreboard from one of my Otters and noticed a notch cut out of the forward end of it (see photo) that has two small holes that seem to indicate something may have been screwed into it at that point. Does anyone have pictures of theirs or any info that may shed some light on this? I'm planning to make one, maybe two, more - one for my other Otter and possibly one for this one since the top layer of the ply is coming away sadly.

ottercentreboard_s.jpg (814.9 KiB) Viewed 25908 times

[cweed]

Does your boat have the two piece stainless steel bracket that screws to the top of the centreboard case and the male and female pin join through the pivot hole together to form a pivot for the centreboard?
If not, you probably have a centreboard bolt for it to pivot on.
The cutout is / was probably for a piece of old ribbed hose which is used as a friction block to hold the board in place / half / quarter up or down. You have a hole in the top handle to have a line to pull the board up or down, along with a second along the top edge. One is to hold the board up, the other to hold it down.
I'm also usuallyin the Chichester area, also have a laser, used to attend opens.....
Perhaps there's a meet in the future?

[aptanet]

The first description sounds like the Otter I have in the drive which is much newer than the one I have at the club. This centreboard is from the club one, which is definitely the latter. I removed the bolt through the casing to get it out. The smaller hole in the lump has a pin through it to hold it up. I'll look into the ribbed hose concept - may have to see if I can track down a photo (although that may be a very long shot!). I think I've got some of that old ribbed hose kicking around somewhere too.
I am hoping the centreboard in the newer one is the same size and shape, even if the fixings are different. Unfortunately all I have to go on is the top part of it, which I have yet to remove.
I'm concentrating on getting one back on the water, and the older one is the easier option. I need to repair the centreboard (short term fix) and make a new one (longer term plan), then patch up of make a new mast foot (just a piece of wood with a section chiselled out) and get some new stays - oh, and one of the blocks of wood backing the fixing points for the stays needs replacing and a quick repaint (she has had a tough life and was painted when we got her, so a fresh coat is now needed).
The newer one needs some hull repairs, a new mast foot, new centreboard and a new mast & boom. The last two may come from the other Otter as there is talk of using an old lug sail or similar we have spare. I'm keeping my eye out for a cheap one though, just in case.

[Titch]

I have been working on my foils and they are still out of the boat, and out of the rudder stock, waiting for the varnish to harden. Since the mainsail is in for a replacement headboard and cringlle, it is not too painful a wait; I can't go sailing anyway. For ref, both the rudder and c/ b are made from 15 mm mahogany ply.

I tried to attach a couple of pics from file and then directly from "attachments" but it tells me the files are too large.

My c/ b is just like yours BUT without the impressive bump. On mine the rubber hose is still in place and I have just replaced the old brass woodscrews with st/st self tapper and washers. I drilled out the holes to 10 mm, filled with epoxy and then redrelled at 3.5 mm for the self tappers.
On the rudder, a previous user had screwed a hold down bungee to the blade with mild steel screws ( which deserves a fate worse than death). They had completely rusted, expanding and splittng the ply. I sorted it out with a multitool and epoxy and then drilled out a big hole for a stopper knot and a small hole for the hold down line ( like a laser).