"steveJ" wrote in message
...
Proper reinforcement of the centerboard trunk on the INSIDE would be
critical since you don't want the trunk to flex at all and there will be
quite a bit of pressure on the trunk when the board is down. I havn't
seen this design but I think fastening the top of the trunk to a thwart
or seat might be a good way to firm it up.
You might want to radius the edges of the plywood where the board enters
the slot to avoid chipping this edge. I'd coat with glass and tape.
Be sure to make the slot quite a bit wider than you think it needs to be
since the board will swell and you might jam stones up there and a
bigger space seems to keep things open easier. The pivot on the board
should be loose too. I've used an oversised hole with an oversized
nylon bushing that rode on a stub of galvanized pipe threaded on both
ends as the pivot before and it worked well. For a larger boat I'd use
a steel or phosphor bronze pin.



Steve:

Thanks - an excellent suggestion on re-inforcing the trunk on the inside,
I'll also take your advice with putting a radius on the slot - now that I
got a router for Christmas :-) The top of the trunk will be covered by the
deck except for a small portion where the top of the board will pivot up.
I'll probably use a 3/8" bolt for a pivot which should be lots since this
boat is only 14' long.

--
Andrew Butchart

http://www.floatingbear.ca