Centerboard Uphaul Box - Including Drawings - An Alternative

[Syzygy]

Well, I may be in the brig for this one.

Being a lame old duck, my achy feet wanted to avoid what a younger version of me would have laughed away: the clam cleat in the foot and stubbed toe. The centerboard uphaul apparatus, while functional and simple, kept luring me into sharing time with a podiatrist.

So, I designed a centerboard uphaul box substitute. It doesn't work any better, it's no less complicated, but it is low profile.There are a few tricky bits to getting everything to work out correctly, and I am willing to discuss the details if asked.

In the interest of not penning another novel, I'll let the images speak for themselves.

Note: I swapped yesterday's drawings out for today's. I uploaded the fully recessed earlier version, yesterday. The new version has the flange overhanging the deck (like the images show). With this design, when stepping on the cover plate, the box then takes no load. Same goes for any forces on the uphaul pendant. They all transmit into the cover. So, all that changed was the size of the cover plate.

[Bewildered]

Very impressive re-design!  Beautiful work indeed.  I would venture to guess that you were/weren't a lawyer, doctor or politician to earn your living.

[kickingbug1]

That is so damned impressive. What a fine piece of engineering. I did invent a simple jib furler that I have used on two of my boats but that was nothing compared to your work.

[slode]

Very nice.  The only thing I can see improving on is countersinking the holes in the top plate and using flat head screws to make it a flush top side, so your shoes/feet don't catch on the screw heads.

[Bewildered]

Dude.  You are picking fly feces out of the pepper shaker with that suggestion. 

[Syzygy]

Quick note: Good recommendation Slode - thank you. Funny, I've bought thousands of SS fasteners over the years, (boxes and boxes of them), but I never seem to have the right one when I need it! The expedient oval head screws you see in the images should be replaced with flat heads. I need to remember to pick some up next time I go to the hardware store...

My personal preference is for collaboration. To all: never hesitate to offer "questions, comments, or criticisms" to me. I am not perfect, but we may all become better by sharing our perspectives in a constructive fashion. Give credit where credit is due, swallow that ego, and make a design better for it. Not all ideas necessarily comport with design intent, and as I have said before, so much is based on ones personal perspectives and experiences.

Anyway, I thought I'd put some comments from an earlier post here, where they are actually applicable (read no further if it looks familiar!):

"Centerboard uphaul box: If you do not like cutting into your boat, read no further.

The system that was installed, likely from the factory, is a piece of PVC pipe that is glassed into the centerboard box on the lower end, and penetrates the deck on the upper end through a hole in the deck. On top of this, there is a rubber gasket, then a wooden plate, and finally, a clam cleat. The clam cleat has a small roller on the forward end that directs the line downward into the tubing.

On my boat, the cleat roller had jammed from lack of maintenance. This caused the roller to flat spot and the uphaul pendant had become frayed. When thinking about solutions, (to this as well as any issue) I try to take a step back and determine if I want to replace components like for like, or if I want to reinvent the system. Part of what I did not like was the toe stubbing nature (and ankle twisting?) of a component that resides on the floor of the cockpit and stands proud about 1.5" (if I recollect correctly). When I was younger, this situation would have been no bother. But as I have become older, I like to have nice solid, flat surface to plant my achy feet.

So, rather than replace the clam cleat (they are still made), I thought maybe I can make a low profile version.

Enough backstory.

I decided that I would inspect the area around and under the tube exit on the deck. Per a previous set of posts relating to this, I found a large Styrofoam block under the cockpit deck. Apparently some may have this item some may not. I have also read that it is used to support the cockpit. The CB uphaul tube resides just forward of this block (covered in carpeting, by the way). I decided to make a box, made from marine plywood and coated generously with epoxy (first coat mixed with a bit of acetone to thin it for maximum penetration). Inside the box, there resides a metal cam cleat and an over the top block (removable for maintenance). The box is flush with the deck, but the top plate/cap is about 3/16" proud with nice rounded edges. The base of the box has a through hull fitting to join with the tubing connected to the CB.

I cut a rectangular opening in the deck precisely as large as the box perimeter. Using a Japan saw (a type of thin-bladed pull saw) I removed Styrofoam where necessary to fit the box. It wasn't too much and it cut like butter as you may imagine. I re-tacked the carpeting, drilled holes for attachment, re-plumbed the tubing, and epoxied some fiberglass on the forward end to secure it all.

Its probably way more project than most would care to undertake. But I have some plans I made in CAD for anyone that wants them. You would want some fiberglass/epoxy skills, some plumbing skill, the ability to make templates, and some relatively precise layout skills to make certain everything ends up where you want them to be".

Well there you have it. Next week, I'll present the 7 gallon fixed (but relatively easily removed for maintenance) water tank system I designed. My boat didn't come with one (previous owner removed it?). Of note, it has a liquid level indicating sight-tube so you know how much water it has left in it, assuming you are on calm water and hopefully moored or anchored. I used push-to-connect tubing and fittings to ease in the assembly (and like any R&D work, makes the design flexible in case something didn't quite measure-up correctly).

Thank you to those who have offered comments. I think the project turned out okay, but it's good to have other opinions as a reality check.

Until next time!