Beaching Brewer12.8

I thought I had replied to this several days ago but I don't see evidence of that so I'll try again.

I have one of the 40 12.8's built (hull #252). My board was noisy but I had pads mounted on either side of it and that quieted things a lot. I've had no humming from the pennant.

The board really does help going to weather and in the deep home waters of Maine and Canada where there is a lot of windward work I wouldn't want to be without it. However, Tribute has been in the shallow waters of the Bahamas and the ICW for the last 2 years and I didn't want to risk an accidental deployment. I took advantage of the system Ted designed to prevent that and had it fixed in the up position. It will be a simple matter to make it functional again when we bring Tribute home.

The 12.8's were designed so they could be raced and I assume that accounts for the centerboard and the placement of the shrouds. The first few boats were all ordered by a group of guys from a yacht club in New York who specifically requested Ted to make the modifications which resulted in the keel/centerboard design.

While the 12.8's can definitely sail without the board, I'm glad I have mine.

Jack Dexter
S/V Tribute

Dear Jack, Thanks for the info. I definitely will replace mine. Im looking for the dimensions and improvements. How much clearance was there on the board slot? How much up into the slot was the board when it was down? Thanks , George

George, the best source for dimensions and details would be Ted Brewer. He's always been easy to reach and very helpful. He sells full sets of plans or plans of specific parts.

My boat is in the water and I don't remember the width of the slot. When I bought my boat there was considerable slop between the board and the trunk but after I added the pads it was probably less than a half inch on both sides. If I was doing it again I'd have the pads made wedge shape so there would be no wiggle room when the board was snugged up.

The board when correctly deployed hangs at a 45 degree angle. I tied a knot in the centerboard pennant where it goes through the line stopper to prevent it from going down any further.

You probably found the PVC pipe that runs from the top of the centerboard trunk to the cockpit sole. That's for the backup system to keep the board from accidentally deploying. Since Tribute is going to be in shallow water for the foreseeable future our board is fixed in the up position. When we eventually get back to good deep Maine water we'll disconnect the preventer and rely on the pennant alone.

Good luck.

Jack

Yes Ted is printing 2 drawings for me of the centerboard.Will mail them Monday. He says Ft Myers Boat Works did not follow his plan for the hoisting Centerboard arrangments. Im a little confused about the line you call a back up system . I heard this line was to keep the board from going forward. You say its not needed and the pennant is enough to control board. Evidently this is the line that HUUUUMS and . vibrates. Im thinking of moving this line to be fixed inside the aft end of the cavity. Minimize it in the flowing water outside hull lines. Half inch each side ! Wow that's a lot. Im thinking new board to be 1/8 each side or 1/4 in total max. Why not?? This centerboard should go down and up in a smooth fashion and it should not wobble any when its part way down! Maine-- that sounds good for the year after when everything is fixed and working well. Thanks, George

If it's not too much trouble, would you mind posting Ted's drawings of the board? Thanks!

Yes, it would be too much trouble.... with a capital "T"! We cannot share copyrighted material on the website.

Scott
Joie de Vivre
Website Admin