Dolphin catamaran

[Fairdinkum]

Hi,
Recently bought a 16' Dolphin and am wondering if anyone can help me regarding the dagger boards? There doesn't appear to be anything to hold them down, they are buoyant and bob up and down.
Thanks.

[Boatmik]

YOu just need a bit of shock cord - stretchy rubber cored cord.

It just needs to be attached to a deck fitting in front of the Centreboard, go round the back of the board and then reattach to the deck. Tie off the shockcord with some tension and that will hold it at whatever height you like.

When you pull the boards out completely the shockcord will sit on deck until you put the boards in again - then you just need to pull the loop of the shockcord over the centreboard head.

MIK

[Fairdinkum]

Hi MIK, thanks for your reply. I had thought of something along the lines of what you have suggested and will probably end up doing that. Would you know if this was the system used in the cat's original design? There are quarter inch holes in the daggerboards, one under the top handle and the other at the base of the slot, could these have been used in conjunction with some sort of hold down device?
Thanks.

[Boatmik]

Simple is best. A bit of forward tension from shock cord gives the board enough friction to stay put. it will allow you to set the board at any height you want and to raise or drop it to any height without adjusting anything - you just have to oppose the tension in the shockcord and it can be moved easily!

I'd love to see some more pics of the Dolphin. I was looking for pics a couple of weeks ago and could only find a single tiny pic at the Elwood Sailing Club website. Any chance you could put more up?

Michael

[Quickcat]

Hi,
Recently bought a 16' Dolphin and am wondering if anyone can help me regarding the dagger boards? There doesn't appear to be anything to hold them down, they are buoyant and bob up and down.
Thanks.


Great Boats the Dolphin,still got mine(Varnished Hulls) & my 1968 Quickcat (Varnished) & my Plywood Arrow (Painted) also my Australian Sailfish all such GREAT Fun "HAPPY" Sailing

[piquet]

I built a sailfish when they were first around in th late 1960's whilst doing my apprenticeship. It was a great little boat. Best time was sailing on Pitwater and having a short race off with a flying 15. The sailfish kept up for quite a while till the 15 sailed off into the distance. I still have the plans here for the boat and probably a set of plywood frames so I might have to build another one again sometime.
Cheers
Peter