allowing for dagger board hole

[Ron Skelly]

I am planning to build a small wooden sailboat and I was wondering if there are designs showing how you would construct the centre of the hull and allowing for the slot / hole for dagger board - how do you make the centre beam strong with that slot in it.

[messabout]

Numerous boat building books describe one method or another. The boat will almost surely have a plank running down the inside center line of the boat. The dagger board case is built on the workbench and mortised into the center plank. These days we will use epoxy to make the connection both strong enough and waterproof enough. The case will need to be braced at or near the top. On small boats, this usually means that a brace or plank of some sort will extend across the boat to each side. Sometimes the cross bracing can be utilized as a seat.

Before you just wing it here, do get some boatbuilder books and study them.

Someone else may jump in here with more detailed advice.

[alan white]

Ron, you might try building an existing design. Asking how to construct and brace the daggerboard trunk indicates you are going to be building your boat blind. I think it's great to learn by experience, but winging it with both design and construction isn't a very pleasant way to build a boat. It will probably only lead to a poorly designed craft that is either heavy or weak or both.
I say this because even though I can design a small sailboat, I find it far more efficient to get some plans from someone who does nothing all day 24/7 but design superb boats.

[Ron Skelly]

good idea..I am ordering a boat building book from Chapters as we speak!