• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

E-23 Stuck-up centerboard

Second Wind

Junior Member
I am sure that mine is this bad- I just can't see it yet....

Wow, thanks for the response. I happen to be vacationing in Montana with my sort-of sister-in-law and her husband, so I am on the computer limitedly this week. Next week I'll be back to normal. Since I bought both my E25 and E23 this year and have yet to put either one in the water, I have questions on theory but not practical experience. We have been sailing an M22 which is very light and tender and based on the many comments of how well the Ericsons sail, we cannot wait to get them in the water. At Lake Mead, our racing season is October through May, stopping for the extreme heat. We have the advantage of being able to trailer to the coast when the racing season ends in May, but this is all hypothetical. The PHRF rating of the M22 is 264, so it is not much of a contender (read- pretty slow).

I looked at E23 swing keel issues and I will have to address those before launching, but the E25 is ready to go. I will do a trial mast-stepping when I get back to make sure that when the time comes at the launch ramp, I will have no problems. It looks like I will need to build or at least repair the E23 keel, and someone's ideas about building an entirely new one out of stainless and UHMW (plastic) laminated to it may be a great solution. This one looks like having it fall off might be in the not-too-distant future, so the time is now.

That said- I just now looked at the pics of your new keel. I was thinking along the lines of a stainless keel center, welded pivot bushing with reinforcement surrounding it, probably also in stainless as a starting point. When you look at my keel from the bow-end of it, it looks to be warped to the starboard side. it may actually be stuck in the up position, as when I loosen the winch to lower it, not much happens. I believe I can adjust the hull upwards away from the trailer to have enough room to remove the keel, so I will take a look when I figure that part out.

Thanks very much, everyone, for those of you who have written. It was this web site and review response to Practical Sailor (I think) by Bob in Va that convinced me to buy the E23. I just had to wait for one to come up for sale. That doesn't seem to happen very often as 1.) There aren't many around, and 2.) Those that have them know they are gems, probably not easily replaced. That speaks volumes in my book.

Thank you for that.
 

davisr

Member III
Steve,

I myself considered a stainless steel spine, but I found it to be cost prohibitive, at least for my budget. The stainless steel sleeve or shaft, though, as you suggest, seems to be a prudent alternative. I believe that Bob in VA is accurate in his assessment of the source of E23 and E25 centerboard problems. As Bob said, the water enters the board either through the pin area or through the aft end of the board (when it is scuffed through contact with the sea floor or lake bottom when the board is fully deployed). Eventually, the steel within the board rusts and swells, and causes the board to wedge itself within the centerboard trunk.

There's another E25 owner, with whom I communicate, who recently sent me some excellent pictures which illustrate this very problem.

Here's a picture taken while this person's boat was on the hard. Swelling in the pin area.

e25centerboardforwardendswelling.jpg


This picture shows the swelling at the aft end of the board. On account of the swelling in the pin area and aft end, this person is unable to lower the board.

e25centerboardaftendswelling.jpg


If you take a look at this thread, you'll see how hard it was for the boatyard to extract my board. Bottom paint had essentially glued mine in place.

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?5545-E-25-s-and-E-23-s-Centerboard

Here are a couple of pictures of the stainless steel sleeve or shaft that I added to my carbon steel spine. This should help prolong the life of the board. The old one lasted over 35 years.

e25centerboardpinshaftalignment.jpg

e25pinshaftinstalled.jpg

Finally, here's a shot of the finished spine within the mold. The lines on the mold are spaced every 6 inches. I based all measurements of the old board and the mold on this 6 inch system.

e25centerboardspinewithinmold.jpg

Hope this helps you visualize my approach to the problem.

Regards,
Roscoe
 

Gordon

Junior Member
I replaced my E23 board a few years back with a SS spline sandwiched between UHMW plastic. I've been pleased with the results but the materials weren't inexpensive. Hardest part for me was the attachment of the plastic to SS. Here's a few picturres, if you want more info just write me.

Gordon
 

Attachments

  • Copy (2) of E 23 Centerboard 005.jpg
    Copy (2) of E 23 Centerboard 005.jpg
    115.2 KB · Views: 100
  • E 23 Centerboard 028.jpg
    E 23 Centerboard 028.jpg
    77.8 KB · Views: 86
  • E 23 Centerboard 035.jpg
    E 23 Centerboard 035.jpg
    80.3 KB · Views: 90
  • E 23 Centerboard 023.jpg
    E 23 Centerboard 023.jpg
    122.6 KB · Views: 87
  • Copy of E 23 Centerboard 006.jpg
    Copy of E 23 Centerboard 006.jpg
    88.9 KB · Views: 92

Dave Kellogg

Junior Member
Response to E25 Centerboard dave@kellogg-rice.com

I replaced my E23 board a few years back with a SS spline sandwiched between UHMW plastic. I've been pleased with the results but the materials weren't inexpensive. Hardest part for me was the attachment of the plastic to SS. Here's a few picturres, if you want more info just write me.

Gordon

I am interested of your materials for the CB for the E25...mine seems to be gone now and your UHMW use with Stainless Steel seems the best Idea ever...How has it worked? What was the cost of the the materials... call or email me Dave Kellogg 941-661-2201 cell email dave@kellogg-rice.com
Thanks
-Dave
 

Tom Howard

New Member
Full size tracings of E23-2 CB?

Most of those original boards lasted 25 to 30 years, and when you think of the stresses they took that's a pretty decent service life. If you build one (or have one built) to match the factory model, be prepared to give it lots of time and money. I've done several, and can say that my present one is the best one yet. It has no metal in it except for #8 bird shot that was mixed with polyester resin to make a slurry and poured into voids cut into the wood core (actually LVL beam laminate). It's strength comes from 8 layers of glass and carbon fiber around the outside - it weighs about half as much as a stock board, can be raised without using a winch, and goes down easy. It is completely sealed around a Delrin bushing, which is a loose press fit and can easily be pushed out. The pin passes through the bushing, and the board swivels easily. It was much easier to make than a steel, lead, resin, fiberglass board (and melting that much lead gives you daine brammage) and cost less than half as much. Took lots of time, but still not a hard job for anyone familiar with laying up fiberglass. I have full size tracings of the E23 and E25 boards if anyone needs one.
Bob, Do you still have these available?
Thanks,

Tom Howard
 

Second Wind

Junior Member
Missing Centerboard!!

Hello All- what a great day it was yesterday- slightly breezy but had every sail up trying to eek out a few more knots. But I found myself slipping sideways more than normal and i was doing 7.5 knots! Surely my knot meter was off- but its GPS! It came time to lightly beach the bow into a soft mud cove, but I found that not only would the keel not come up, but there was no springy tension on the line and I surely wasn’t lifting any weight. I dove under the boat to find no keel.
I posted a few blogs earlier up about having chunks missing from the leading edge of my E23, but this is my E25 that Ive sailed regularly and the keel- I thought- was in fine shape. Im sure its at the bottom of Lake Mead.

so..... does anyone have copies of the shape and profile of the E23/E25 centerboard? I saw that several people had them, but this thread is ten years old! Its now time to build two keels!

Thanks in advance,
Steve
SV Old Navy (E25)
SV Second Wind (E23)
 
Top