Installing a Centre Plate Down Haul on a Hawk20 Day Boat

Hawk20 boats, along with plenty of other designs, have a centreplate which is housed in the hull and should fall into place under gravity. If the boat is kept afloat for any period of time, it will experience the issue of the centreplate jamming up. This might be due to marine growth or debris getting stuck.

This Instructable will show how I installed a centre-plate down-haul on my Hawk 20 sailing dinghy.

Step 1: Start

To complete this task you will need the following tools.

1. Drill with spade bit
2. Screwdriver to remove centre board cover.
3. Length of string for the down-haul
4. New plastic grommet.
5. 2 small stainless steel screws.

Step 2: Drill New Hole in Centre Board Cover.

Using a drill bit of the correct size make a new hole in the centre board cover as shown in the picture.

You need to place the new hole in a location such that you can use two securing screws adequately.

Step 3: Tie New Piece of Rope to Top of Centre Board

Remove the centre board cover. Pull the rope used to raise the centre board out of the cover for this next step to keep the area clear.

Connect your down haul rope to the top of the centre board.

As you can see I simply tied the rope around the pulley fittings.

Step 4: Replace the Cover.

When replacing the centre board cover, make sure that both ropes are not tangled with each other and they are fed back through the correct holes.

To enable a good grip I put some basic knots in the rope.

For most of the time the grip will not be tied in a loop to prevent people getting their feet stuck etc.