before you guys get all bent out of shape -

1. I went to the website for Starboard plastic and it never mentions
using it to fashion boat parts that are used as control surfaces. Sure,
you can use it for a bench or a ladder, but to put it in the water as
your centerboard?? It says it has MATT surfaces on both sides (not very
slippery!)

2. The size of Starboard I would need cost $45 + shipping and then I
have to spend several hours cutting it to shape and rounding off all
the edges... compared to $95 + shipping and I get the official Escape
centerboard that can be installed in 5 minutes...

I really just want to get this thing out on the water before summer is
over and make sure it works... I can use a glue to get the centerboard
back together for now, then if I'm still happy with the boat by the end
of summer I'll order the factory centerboard - if I decide I do not
like it I'll post it on eBay.

Robert

Walt wrote:
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:

"Walt" wrote in message
| Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:

| Get a piece of Starboard plastic and fashion your centerboard
| from it. You will have a trouble-free centerboard.
|
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...goryId%7E 305
|
| I'm highly
| skeptical that it would be even minimally adequate, even if it you could
| get it in a sufficient thicknesses.

Take a look at a Hobie rudder sometime. It's not troublesome wood.

And it's not Starboard plastic either. You've never made a foil out of
this stuff, have you? IOW, you're making it all up.


//Walt

wrote:

before you guys get all bent out of shape -

1. I went to the website for Starboard plastic and it never mentions
using it to fashion boat parts that are used as control surfaces. Sure,
you can use it for a bench or a ladder, but to put it in the water as
your centerboard?? It says it has MATT surfaces on both sides (not very
slippery!)

Slipperyness or lack thereof is not really the issue. The problem is
stiffness - you don't want your board to bend sideways.

2. The size of Starboard I would need cost $45 + shipping and then I
have to spend several hours cutting it to shape and rounding off all
the edges... compared to $95 + shipping and I get the official Escape
centerboard that can be installed in 5 minutes...

Exactly. Whether you make a replacement out of this material or wood or
whatever it's more cost effective to just buy a replacement.

I really just want to get this thing out on the water before summer is
over and make sure it works... I can use a glue to get the centerboard
back together for now, then if I'm still happy with the boat by the end
of summer I'll order the factory centerboard - if I decide I do not
like it I'll post it on eBay.

That's a viable option. Realize, though, that it isn't any harder to use
the right adhesive for the job. A small kit of West System epoxy like
this will only set you back about ten bucks:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U13F5245D Do it right, do it once.


//Walt

would the small $10 kit be enough to glue a 3 foot board back together?
I could not tell by the description on the website.

Robert


Walt wrote:
wrote:

before you guys get all bent out of shape -

1. I went to the website for Starboard plastic and it never mentions
using it to fashion boat parts that are used as control surfaces. Sure,
you can use it for a bench or a ladder, but to put it in the water as
your centerboard?? It says it has MATT surfaces on both sides (not very
slippery!)

Slipperyness or lack thereof is not really the issue. The problem is
stiffness - you don't want your board to bend sideways.

2. The size of Starboard I would need cost $45 + shipping and then I
have to spend several hours cutting it to shape and rounding off all
the edges... compared to $95 + shipping and I get the official Escape
centerboard that can be installed in 5 minutes...

Exactly. Whether you make a replacement out of this material or wood or
whatever it's more cost effective to just buy a replacement.

I really just want to get this thing out on the water before summer is
over and make sure it works... I can use a glue to get the centerboard
back together for now, then if I'm still happy with the boat by the end
of summer I'll order the factory centerboard - if I decide I do not
like it I'll post it on eBay.

That's a viable option. Realize, though, that it isn't any harder to use
the right adhesive for the job. A small kit of West System epoxy like
this will only set you back about ten bucks:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U13F5245D Do it right, do it once.


//Walt

wrote:

would the small $10 kit be enough to glue a 3 foot board back together?
I could not tell by the description on the website.

Hmmmm. I think so, but I can't say for sure. It contains two packets
each of the hardner and resin, but you might need a little more. Or
not. The refill pack (WSY-101T, ~ $17) has six packets of each, which is
surely enough. I buy it in larger amounts so I'm not real familiar with
the packets. One advantage of the packets is that they make it very
easy to get the right mix of hardener and resin.

//Walt