[Rhodes22-list] CenterBoard Angle

[KUHN, LELAND]

Bud,

I've only sailed the Rhodes for a year, so I hope I'm not giving you bad
advice.

If I want to point into the wind as much as possible, I'll put the
centerboard all the way down.  I'll also use the traveler and inside
leads to flatten the sails.  I've found that it's rare that I need that
extra five degrees into the wind to get to where I want to go.

The centerboard can be used as a depth finder, but even with the soft
mud bottom of the Chesapeake, you never know what you're going to hit.
At the very least it will knock off your bottom paint.

The centerboard acts as a pivot point, allowing you to make sharper
turns.  Don't really need it for tacking but could come in handy
motoring around the marina.  The boat turns sharp enough for me without
the board down.

Depending on your point-of-sail, wind, waves, and current; the
centerboard will help balance the boat and take pressure off the tiller.
I notice this really helps if I have too much sail out.  I usually
adjust the sails to balance the boat.

As a newbie, I constantly check my speed to see what works best in all
conditions.  I have put the board up and down in every condition, and I
am convinced that the drag from the centerboard will always slow you
down.  In most cases, I believe the centerboard's ability to keep you
sailing in a straight line doesn't make up for the decrease in speed.  I
might be wrong on that last statement.

In my limited experience, the centerboard is a tool that you rarely need
and will slow you down.  I guess what surprised me was that most boats
sail fastest on a close reach, due to the opposing pressures from the
sails and keel (squeezing a watermelon seed analogy).  On a close reach
with a Rhodes, you will still go faster with the centerboard up.

If it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, reread the first
sentence. :)

Lee
1986 Rhodes22  At Ease
Crab Alley (Kent Island, MD)


-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Thorn [mailto:pthorn at nc.rr.com] 
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 6:18 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] CenterBoard Angle

Bud,

I'll add my 2 cents, in short:  upwind all down, downwind all up.

The Rhodes has a very light, balanced helm.  With a large (175) headsail
and
smaller (not-newer vertical battened) main there can be a tendancy to
leeward helm in light air.  As the boat heels when the breeze picks up
this
is mitigated.   So with the sailplan center of effort (CE) forward (the
rig
described above) the underwater fin's center of lateral resistance
(CLR),
which can be adjusted by the centerboard, also needs to be as forward as
possible.

Another of the many advantages to having a centerboard is that you can
change the CLR while underway by adjusting the board.  In heavier air,
when
you would expose less area on the headsail going to windward, you can
balance by raising the centerboard just a little.

PT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary Lou Troy" <mtroy at atlanticbb.net>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 9:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] CenterBoard Angle


> Bud,
> I think it's just about vertical. Unless you are sailing in a very
> weedy area, I don't think having the pennant exposed is a problem.
> It's just as likely to get fouled by growth in the slot. Our's seems
> to stay cleaner the more we use it. We always pull the board up at
> anchor or when we leave the boat in the slip but sailing upwind it is
> always down as far as it will go. As Wally said, as we move off the
> wind we start pulling the board up.
>
> Mary Lou
> 1991 R22  Fretless
> Rock Hall, MD
>
>
>
>
>
> At 08:39 PM 3/7/2007, you wrote:
> >Thanks to all who responded!   Mary Lou - when you say all the way
> >down, you mean the CB is nearly vertical?
> >Do you run into any problems with the pennant line or sheaves
> >exposed in that running configuration?
> >I had thought the sheaves might get "gunked up" if they were exposed.
> >
> >Thanks again,
> >Bud
> >
> >Mary Lou Troy wrote:
> >
> >>Bud,
> >>Fretless is a 1991. We usually sail with the board all the way
> >>down. Exceptions are downwind or very shallow water.
> >>
> >>Mary Lou
> >>1991 R22  Fretless
> >>Rock Hall, MD
> >>
> >>At 09:35 PM 3/6/2007, you wrote:
> >>
> >>>Rummy,
> >>>  I have a 1990 R22, and I am pretty sure I do not have a "diamond"
board.
> >>>
> >>>Thanks,
> >>>-Bud
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>R22RumRunner at aol.com wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>Bud,
> >>>>It depends on what year and centerboard design you have?
> >>>>Rummy
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> >>>>
> >>>>
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