Centerboard Maintenance

Ellie was launched in 2011. She has seen a considerable amount of use in the 8 years since her launch, both on the water and on the road. She’s been repainted several times, both inside and out, but her centerboard has never been removed and inspected since her launching. Time for some overdue maintenance!

To be honest, I was a little bit afraid of what I might find. Her centerboard has always worked perfectly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all is well below the surface.

So I summoned up some courage, removed her pivot bolt, removed the centerboard and brought it to the workbench.

The board looked pretty darn good. A quick inspection revealed no major issues. No soft spots, wood rot, or significant damage anywhere, thank goodness. Just a bit of normal wear and tear.

The first thing I noticed was some missing black paint. My centerboard was constructed of Alaskan Yellow Cedar, sheathed in epoxy and fiberglass, sanded, and painted with Rustoleum alkyd enamel spray paint. One of the lessons I learned while building Ellie is that paint will only stick to epoxy if the epoxy is well sanded until it looks “frosty”. Epoxy cures to a smooth, shiny and slightly waxy finish that paint simply will not adhere to. Everywhere you see missing paint on my centerboard, you will also find glossy epoxy. These areas will get a more thorough sanding before they get repainted.

Paint was also missing in areas that get some wear and tear. The entire leading edge of the board is missing paint. I sail over the Snohomish river bar very often. The bar is sandy, shallow and thick with seaweed. You can see where the sand and seaweed has worn off the paint.

There is also a bit of missing paint on the sides of the board, where the board rubs up against the inside of the centerboard case.

 

And one ding on the bottom of the board.  I'm not quite sure where this came from.  I may have hit a rock at some point.  This will need to be filled with epoxy.

The area with the most wear is the area around the pivot bolt, as one would expect. Here the paint has been worn away, and much of the epoxy coating. Even the fiberglass has started to wear a little bit. It’s a good thing I decided to do this maintenance now, before it wore through the fiberglass and into the wood itself.

This wear can be repaired quite easily. I’ll give it a light sanding and a fresh coat of epoxy or two on the worn areas. Then the entire board will get sanded, followed by several coats of paint and the board will be as good as new.

The hole where the board pivots is in perfect condition. When I originally built the board, I made a "bushing" here by drilling an oversized hole in the board. I filled the hole with a mixture of epoxy, chopped fiberglass, and silica. After that cured I drilled a smaller hole through it for the centerboard pivot bolt. I did the same procedure in the centerboard case. This creates a hard, waterproof bushing that will never wear out.  The procedure is described in detail here.

It’s easy to forget to maintain your centerboard. Don’t let a small job become a big problem!

Nearshore Anchoring using an Anchor Buddy

Ellie and friends using their Anchor Buddies at Fossil Bay, Sucia Island State Park, Washington

What is an Anchor Buddy?

Simply put, the Anchor Buddy can be thought of as an anchor rope that stretches. It allows you to anchor your boat about 35 feet offshore, in water deep enough to keep it safe from rocky beaches, boat wakes and wind. Its stretchiness allows you to pull the boat to shore (stretching the Anchor Buddy), where you can board, depart, or load and unload gear. When you’re finished, the Anchor Buddy retracts, automatically pulling your boat back out to deeper water.  The Anchor Buddy also allows many boats to anchor close together without bumping into each other, as you can see in the photo above.

The anchor buddy is constructed of 3/8 inch diameter surgical tubing surrounded by a woven poly outer sleeve. The tubing stretches like a bungee cord while the outer sleeve limits how far the cord can stretch (to prevent breakage) and provides great strength when the Anchor Buddy is stretched to its maximum length.

Rigging the Anchor Buddy

The Anchor Buddy connects between your anchor chain and rode. Here you can see the setup I use on my 15’ John Welsford designed Navigator yawl.

My anchor is shackled to 10 feet of ¼ inch chain. The chain is connected to one end of the Anchor Buddy (yellow). Additional Anchor Buddies can be connected in series if desired, with each additional Buddy providing an additional 35 feet of stretch. An anchor swivel is attached to the other end of the Buddy, followed by 100 feet of 3/8 inch nylon rode. When anchoring close to shore, I find that 100 feet of rode is nearly always sufficient, but I also carry along an additional 100 feet of rope in case I need more, and for use when anchoring out in deeper water.

Deploying the Anchor Buddy

To deploy the Anchor Buddy, begin by slowly motoring, rowing or sailing towards the shore so that you can survey it. The ideal shoreline will be devoid of large rocks or other dangers, but will also have a nearby tree, log, boulder or something else to tie your anchor line to.

When you get approximately 100 feet from shore, begin lowering your anchor to the bottom, and pay out line as you slowly approach the beach. When you arrive at the shore, exit the boat taking the remaining anchor rode with you. Begin pulling on the anchor rode. As you continue pulling the rode, you will feel the Anchor Buddy stretching. Continue pulling until the Anchor Buddy is fully stretched to its limit and the anchor will begin to set. Pull as hard as you can to ensure the anchor is fully set. Release the anchor rode and allow the Anchor Buddy to fully retract. Take the bitter end of the anchor rode and tie it to a tree, log or boulder, removing all slack from the anchor line without stretching the Anchor Buddy. Finally, return to the bow of the boat. Pull the anchor rode again until the Anchor Buddy is fully stretched. Cleat the anchor rode to a bow cleat. Give the boat a gentle push off the beach and watch as the Anchor Buddy retracts and pulls the boat 35 feet offshore.

What if there’s no tree, log or boulder to tie to?

If there’s nothing convenient to tie to, you will need a beach anchor, sand anchor or spike anchor. These come in a variety of styles. If you carry a secondary anchor, it will work perfectly well.  A compact solution that works well in sandy beaches is this auger style called a Tie Down Mate.

Tie Down Mate beach anchor

Coming and going

After deploying the anchor, suppose you want to do a little fishing, or participate in a sailboat race. Once you are set up, you can easily come and go without retrieving your anchor. Simply pull the boat to shore, climb onboard, let the Anchor Buddy pull you out, untie the boat and off you go. When you return, beach the boat where you anchored and get out. Pull the anchor line in, tie to your bow cleat and let the Anchor Buddy pull your boat out.

Dealing with tides

The areas where I sail often have tidal ranges of 13 feet or more. They also have shallow beaches that are less than 13 feet deep at 35 feet offshore. That means there is a good chance that my boat could go dry at low tide, possibly suffering damage. There are several ways to avoid that. One way, mentioned earlier, is to daisy chain two or more Anchor Buddies in series. Each Anchor Buddy will place the boat an additional 35 feet offshore. Another way, if the weather, your schedule, and the bottom conditions safely allow it, is to let the boat go dry until the tide comes back in.

Only allow boat to go dry at low tide if it's safe

Yet another way is to occasionally move the boat closer or farther away along the anchor rode as needed. If the tide is going out and the boat is getting too close to shore, re-adjust it by un-cleating the rode, stretching the Anchor Buddy to its limit, and re-cleat it. Conversely, if the tide is coming in and the boat is getting more than 35 feet offshore, re-adjust it the same way.

When I sleep overnight on my boat, I always ensure that I won’t go dry at low tide during the night. To do this, I climb onboard, untie the anchor rode from the bow cleat, pull the boat well offshore and re-tie it there. Then I set up my boom tent and enjoy a worry-free night’s sleep.  I can pull myself back to shore whenever I need to.

Safety

According to the manufacturer, the Anchor Buddy is intended for temporary anchoring/mooring only. It has a 4000 pound capacity which far exceeds the weight of my cruising dinghy. I have used it for many years and I am confident using it overnight, especially considering how the boat is also anchored to shore. For increased confidence, a 45 foot long line can be connected alongside the Anchor Buddy. This will keep the anchor attached to the boat if the Anchor Buddy were to fail, while still allowing it to stretch and function normally.

If you’re ever in the Puget Sound area and you see a small yawl anchored in a cozy cove, there’s a good chance it will be me, and my “Buddy”.