Centerboard Position

[GLD1976]

In reading the Mac Manual it suggest having the centerboard up when sailing downwind. With that said does anyone use different centerboard positions under different sailing profiles?

[opie]

Look at it this way. Imagine going 60 down the freeway with your hand slicing the air out the window. As long as your fingers are pointed into the airstream you can hold your hand easily into the wind. When you move your fingers off to the left or right, your hand is pushed hard to that direction. The analogy is the car engine is the aft wind pushing the boat downwind by filling the sails. Your hand is the centerboard (or daggerboard). If you make a helm mistake and make a sudden move to the left or right, the board will catch in the water flow just as your hand caught in the wind and you could broach the boat (tip over). In lesser speeds, the drag of the board will slow the boat enough that you will be slower than a similar boat racing you. And, you don't need the board to steer the boat. Those make up good reasons to keep the board up when going downwind. As for all the other points of sail, I think the best thing to do is to go somewhere where you have 1 mile in each direction so you do not have to worry too much about docks and banks and other boats. Then try all the points of sail with different board depths. Take notes while doing it. Have fun. Reading about board management while sailing did not really sink any learning into my brain, but I learned quickly when actually doing, making mistakes of course. Remember that the CB can not move at all when it is pinned with current, you have to head up or move across the wind to loosen the board. I never sailed a M so I do not know if the board can be raised while water flow is off center to the board.

[c130king]

Found several threads on this topic with a search on "centerboard position". Here are three:

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... d+position

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... d+position

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... d+position

Lot's of information on this site...

Jim