tcoltrane's Question about Daggerboard and Rudder

[tcoltrane]

I am in the process of purchasing a 2005M. I am supposed to take delivery on
June 23. I am wondering if
some of you M sailors would
share with others the rudder
and dagger board settings for
the different points of sail?
It would be a great help to me
and others to get the most out
of our boats.

Thanks

Tim Coltrane

[aya16]

Hi hope you enjoy your new Mac...

When sailing most points of sail I use the dagger all the way down.

When running with the wind and swell the dagger board is all the way up.

When motoring in heavy chop I use the rudders down and dagger board down.

When docking a real slow approach and dagger board down rudders down
Very good control. I walk the boat on the trailer from the dock, everything up.

When sailing the best feeling and control comes from disconnecting the motor, rudders all the way down. Make sure the motor is secured straight ahead when doing this.

Get sail slugs for easy sail handling.

Get the furler

Most of the time for me the ballast tank is full.

Make sure the dealer walks you through all the little things on the boat like the factory bolt that will secure the engine when disconnected. (I just figured mine out after a year)

Although the boat will sail and be safe at a very high lean, its uncomfortable so keep the main halyard handy when you reach. Pop the main when leaning too much. The boat new will be a little tender. As you add your personal stuff the boat will get heavier and will not be so tender.
Get a gauge that tells how much you lean and try to keep the boat around 20 or less. 10 to 15 are comfortable for most.

Enjoy your boat it will be a lot of fun......

[DLT]

Aya16 meant, I'm sure, main sheet, not main halyard, to spill the main and reduce heel (lean)...

[Richard O'Brien]

When motoring in heavy chop I use the rudders down and dagger board down.

Aya, Doesn't this come with a caution? I know that motoring in heavy chop is pretty squirrely unless you have a little board down, but if you turned sharply with the rudders and board down couldn't you "trip" over your rudder?

[Tom Spohn]

There is more than one kind of chop. There are standing waves, wind chop with the current, wind chop against the current, and wind chop across the current all added to by the wakes from the million ton freighters up here.

I find that going directly into the wind and current that foils down is OK. All other points I prefer them up. As Duane has pointed out on this board sometimes a speed of about 10 knots is what is best for conditions. That is too fast for the foils to be down. In following seas the speed of the boat will need to be adjusted to keep surfing, and a spurt of power is sometimes needed to keep from broaching. The worst sometimes is when I am diagonally crossing the Sound say from sw to ne with the current running n and the wind running s. The dagger board wants to make the boat really squirelly in this situation. With the foils up and a bit more speed the M just powers through it.

[Terry]

I have the line to my daggerboard marked with a piece of colored tape just at the point where it lets the daggerboard down as low as the rudder tips so that both are the same depth. I use this when on a very broad reach and for maneuvering into my slip. I also have it marked with another color of tape at about the 12"-15" depth mark for motoring with rudders at about 6-8 knots for stability, any faster and both are retracted although I have found on occasion that one rudder down helps with maneuvering in channels with excess current. Have to wonder how much daggerboard I can drop without the danger of it acting as a foil though?

[RandyMoon]

Get sail slugs for easy sail handling.

Even with slugs (or without slugs) get a can of SailKote and spray it where your slugs/sail come in contact with the mast. It will make it easier to get up, and more importantly, it makes it easier to drop your sail. There is nothing worse than getting in a situation where you have to drop your sail and it hangs up. Plus it is good for the rotating mast (that does not always rotate).

http://www.sailnet.com/store/item.cfm?pid=19667