Centreboard Installation

While I was sealing the ballast tanks with epoxy I realised that it would be much easier to install the centreboard before gluing down the tank tops. There are holes for inspection hatches to allow the pivot bolt to be removed/replaced but it seemed like a good idea to put it all together the first time without needing to use the inspection holes. As it turned out there wasn't a problem and I could have done it through the inspection holes. Here is a photo of the plate hovering over the centreboard case.

The board pivots on a  25mm diameter bronze sleeve with a 16mm 316 stainless bolt through it to keep it all in place. Here is the plate with the sleeve and bolt.

With the board in place the swage on the lifting shackle sits up above the top of the CB case as expected. This will need a clearance hole in the CB case top and a pad under the turning block that sends the lifting cable forwards.

Last photo shows the retaining bolt in place. As usual the bolt is 5mm too short so that the Nyloc nut doesn't have enough thread to get a grip on. This can be fixed easily through the inspection holes when the ballast tank lid is in place. also on show in this photo are the epoxy fillets and multiple sealing coats of epoxy on the inside of the ballast tank/