Cracked centreboard base

[Bassman2]

I have an 20+ year old wooden Solo dinghy and last time I was out I noticed a crack, about 30 cm long in the centreboard casing.


I suspect that any professional repair would cost more than the dinghy is worth so I've been wondering how to deal with it. I'm not much of a DIYer, but I have some plywood left over from cutting locker tops for a CO26. I was thinking that cutting a piece and gluing and screwing over the top of the crack would do the trick. Anyone have any views?

 

[wombat88]

I have done something similar with success and no ill effects. I have also used glass fibre matting, whatever comes chaply to hand.

I cracked the centreboard case on my old Merlin by over tightening the centre board bolt...

 

[MikeBz]

If the crack goes all the way through to inside the case then there isn’t much point in patching one side of it.

 

[Skysail]

You could try the Classic and Vintage Dinghy group on Facebook, they are very helpful. There is also a webpage.

 

[johnlilley]

Perhaps , if you have a router, you could set it up with a parallel straight cutter of an appropriate diameter, temporarily fix a straight guide to the centre case somehow , and simply rout a deep straight channel taking in the split and the glue in an accurately machined mahogany spline. That would almost certainly be a good and tidy repair.

 

[oldbloke]

Or, less craftsman and more bodge, cut a wide shallow V with chisel and fill with thickened epoxy. Could also put plywood patch on top also.
Many old solos had a completely open top to the case. Capping the back of the case or inserting a filling piece for the last foot or so makes it much much structurally sound and didn't ,in my boat, impinge on the centreboard

 

[tillergirl]

Before using the router:

DSC02491 by Roger Gaspar, on Flickr

After the router:

DSC02492 by Roger Gaspar, on Flickr

I regret I don't have an image of the spline fitted.