My centerboard line has a knot in it, so that when the CB is fully down, the knot is jammed against the hole. You should adjust the knot just so, so that the CB doesn't rest on the tang with full weight, and there should not be slack on the CB line. Unfortunately, it's a little hard to do it just right, since you have to have the boat on the trailer to put the knot in, and then put the boat in the water to test the knot location. As always, remember to let out the centerboard SLOWLY, so the cb tang doesn't bang against the stop and break off. The older centerboards were cast iron, which is brittle, and the tang will break off, in which case you'll have to put the knot in the right place anyway. John Fleming M-17: "Star Cross'd"