SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

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jacquesmm
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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by jacquesmm »

Yes, are close. Still some wrinkles but you"ll adjust all that on the water.
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waytootall
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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by waytootall »

What did you use for that mast and sprit? It looks good. I am also considering making my own sail so I look forward to hearing how yours works.

MWhiting04
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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by MWhiting04 »

After a few years I finally finished the Sharpie and got it in the water.
Not a good result but will try again.
Center board came detached and 20 ft from dock on my first turn into wind it flipped.
I have since put a metal strap over the connection point on the center board so it can’t fall off.
Question. Beside the weight which seemed ok. How does the center board stay straight down and not retract some because of the flow of water? Do I need to lock it in place somehow?
After flip. Lol
After flip. Lol
Before painting
Before painting

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Jaysen
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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by Jaysen »

I’ve seen a shock cord used to hold the board down. That allows the board to “bounce up” on impact. There are some examples online if you search google.
My already completed 'Lil Bit'. A Martens Goosen V12 set up to sail me to the fishing holes.
Currently working on making a Helms 24 our coastal cruiser.
“Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens” wrote:Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.
Jaysen wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 3:44 pm I tried to say something but God thought I was wrong and filled my mouth with saltwater. I kept my pie hole shut after that.

jacquesmm
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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by jacquesmm »

MWhiting04 wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:27 pm Center board came detached and 20 ft from dock on my first turn into wind it flipped.
What do you mean by detached and flipped? The CB pivots around a bolt. The plans show the bolt going through the CB case and the CB. How can it become detached? Did the bolt get loose? Can you take picture of the pivot bolt?
I have since put a metal strap over the connection point on the center board so it can’t fall off.
The bolt is secured by nuts, why a strap? A picture will help.
Question. Beside the weight which seemed ok. How does the center board stay straight down and not retract some because of the flow of water? Do I need to lock it in place somehow?
The plans show a lead insert in the CB, it seems that is right, it is sufficient for the CB to go down. Once the boat has some speed, sailing, the side pressure on the CB is sufficient to keep it from moving.
You only drop the CB when sailing upwind.

Post a picture of that pivot please, I wonder why it should become loose.
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http://boatbuildercentral.com

MWhiting04
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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by MWhiting04 »

This is picture of entire center board.
The bolt does go through the boat and the center board hooks on it.
I put a metal strap where the green shows.

So sounds like while underway the board stay down because of side pressure. The board is tapered like a wing as well.
normal_image_25.jpg
normal_image_25.jpg (78.32 KiB) Viewed 11984 times
Post a picture of that pivot please, I wonder why it should become loose.
[/quote]

MWhiting04
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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by MWhiting04 »

jacquesmm wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 2:45 pm
MWhiting04 wrote: Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:27 pm Center board came detached and 20 ft from dock on my first turn into wind it flipped.
What do you mean by detached and flipped? The CB pivots around a bolt. The plans show the bolt going through the CB case and the CB. How can it become detached? Did the bolt get loose? Can you take picture of the pivot bolt?
I have since put a metal strap over the connection point on the center board so it can’t fall off.
The bolt is secured by nuts, why a strap? A picture will help.
Question. Beside the weight which seemed ok. How does the center board stay straight down and not retract some because of the flow of water? Do I need to lock it in place somehow?
The plans show a lead insert in the CB, it seems that is right, it is sufficient for the CB to go down. Once the boat has some speed, sailing, the side pressure on the CB is sufficient to keep it from moving.
You only drop the CB when sailing upwind.

Post a picture of that pivot please, I wonder why it should become loose.
I was not able to get a picture of the bolt but that does not seem to be an issue, never came loose. It is a bolt through the center board housing with a Bolt Sleeve about 1" wide so the center board does not roll on the bolt it rolls on the sleeve.
See example picture
Bolt Sleeve
Bolt Sleeve
Bolt Sleeve.PNG (163.09 KiB) Viewed 11464 times
I did include a picture of the center board with the U shape notch.
I wont get a chance to try again this year unless the weather does a major turn around. Seems like the strap covering the U notch should keep it from falling off again.

It felt so good for about 10 secs when I turned the rudder to get into a close reach and the front of boat started coming around. I have never sailed and going against the wind always seemed odd. But it worked, I started moving upwind but then I think the center board hit the bottom and then fell off. But those 10 secs were cool that I was doing it.

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Re: SH14 Starting a new Sharpie called Little Mae

Post by jacquesmm »

I see it now and I understand your questions.
Look at the plans, profile section, like below:
Image
That is how the CB should look when it is down.
Positioned at that angle, it can not jump out.
Tie a knot in your painter to keep it from going deeper.

There is a description of the painter and slot here:
http://bateau2.com/howto/centreboard.php

The painter is the line that you use to raise and lower the CB.

The advantage of that system is easy maintenance and cleaning: let the board go lower and you can remove the board for cleaning or transport.
I had that same system on a large ocean going boat and the board never jumped out but if you let it go lower, it will jump out as you describe.

If you look up "sharpie" you will find this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpie_(boat)
showing a traditional sharpie CB arrangement;
Image
that is how the SH14 should sail.
In my design, I use a slot instead of a hole.

If you don't like that system, fill the slot and drill a hole for the pivot. To clean or repair, you will have to remove the pivot bolt.
Jacques Mertens - Designer
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