DRAGONFLY Trimarans User Forum

Many people seem to have a problem with lowering the centreboard, and often attribute this to the lines jamming between the board and the case. Recently when replacing my downhaul, I found that there is another reason that causes this problem. If the mast rotates slightly, the foot of the mast can push on the downhaul line, causing a lot of friction when trying to pull the board down. The picture attached shows the problem. I assume the same could happen with the uphaul if the mast twists the other way.

I don't know any permanent solution, other than to check regularly that your mast hasn't moved. (It doesn't have such a big effect when raising the board, partly because the buoyancy of the board helps to raise it, and also because the downhaul line doesn't catch on the bottom edge of the mast foot.)

Please click on any of the photos to see them enlarged!

I found my centreboard really hard to pull down the other day - hasn’t been a problem before, so this might explain it. I’ll check it next time. Thanks for or the tip.