Peter,

I've never taken my centerboard cap off, so I can't speak to the internal assembly, but I can say that my centerboard will also thump if it's down while the boat is at anchor and rocking a bit. It has done this since I bought it freshly recycled by General Boats, so I consider this normal behavior, and not cause for concern.

My centerboard will also sometimes thump when it's down and I'm under sail.  As I recall, Stan mentions in the owner's manual that if this is happening, it's a sign that the centerboard isn't doing anything except adding to drag, and it should be pulled up.

Peter Nyberg
Coventry, CT
s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)

> On 2024-04-25, at 08:53:59 EDT, peter beckerman wrote:
>
> I figured I should start a new (related) thread.
> I've only ever been able to partially deploy my centerboard, but when partially 
> down it'll "thump" a bit as the boat rocks back and forth.  Since I have 
> the centerboard cap off trying to figure out why the board won't fully deploy, I 
> figured I'd take a look at the pivot slot.  Overall the slot looks okay, 
> with just a bit of obvious wear and tear, mostly to the paint.   I 
> noticed that when the board is moved so that the pivot pin is firm against one 
> side of the slot, there's about 1/4 inch of space between the pin and the other 
> side of the slot.  I'm wondering if this is about the proper tolerance or 
> if there's too much of a gap?  Also, there were two lengths of vinyl tubing 
> placed in the slot on port and starboard sides of the centerboard.  Are 
> these supposed to be shock absorbers?  I guess they would also discourage 
> the  board from moving up into the slot during a grounding.  Mine are 
> hard as a rock and I suppose they should be replaced with something more 
> flexible.  Any thoughts? 
> 



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