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I have finally epoxied my Eastport Pram's daggeboard trunk in.
I inserted the daggerboard in (not finished yet, just a raw plywood part) to see how it fits, and I noticed that the daggerboard is visibly smaller than the trunk in both dimensions. I understand that I am going to put a few layer of epoxy on (how many, by the way?), but I am pretty sure that it's still going to be quiet loose, width-wise and definitely length-wise.
Is it OK, or I should be worried about that? I haven't opened the slots in the seat and the bottom yet, but I was planning to use a router with a flush trim bit.
2 replies:
RE: daggerboard slot
Thank you!
This is exactly what I figured myself (either the wind is from a side, and there is presure on the daggerboard, or you are on the run and don't need the daggerboard at all). I was just surprised by how loose it feels now.
RE: daggerboard slot
» Submitted by Laszlo - Wed, 2/24/21 » 11:09 AM
Loose is good. Tight will get stuck, usually at the worst possible moment.
When you're sailing with the wind on your beam, the boat will want to move sideways but the daggerboard will be resisting that motion. That resistance will press the daggerboard against the side of the trunk and keep it in place. When you turn downwind, the pressure will be gone and the board will pop up, which is actually pretty much what you want since going downwind the board serves no real function and just slows the boat down. Popping up gets rid of a lot of the board's resistance and the boat moves faster.
Now, in the event that the real world isn't as kind as this idealized description and the board needs some help staying down, a short length of shock cord or a bungee cord will take care of the problem.
Have fun,
Laszlo