A cap for the daggerboard trunk is worth the investment. Otherwise the
water can spray/splash up in an unpleasant fashion. The cap is just a Tee
shaped piece (viewed from aft) with a stub for the daggerboard and a top
piece as handle and lid.

Depending on the hull shape, a little (3" ?) daggerboard protruding from the
bottom gives the rudder something to work against. At least on the Sunfish,
no daggerboard means no steering.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

"Melandre" ) writes:

... I have not put the boat in the water yet since I am
not sure if it would float without a centreboard (I'm
planning to tow it behind my boat to the cabin). By
the way, I did not know that there was a difference
between a centreboard and a daggerboard. Until snip

Centreboard swings up into the boat on a pivot. If you put
the boat in the water without the pivot water will come in
through the pivot hole. The pivot is usually a bolt that goes
through the centreboard trunk. It has rubber washers on it
to seal. Look for the pivot hole in the casing at the
bottom near the front. If you stuff something into the pivot
hole you should be able to tow the boat without a
centreboard in it.

A daggerboard doesn't have a pivot hole so there is no problem.

If you can't find spec for the board there is a rule of thumb which I
will look up, says one square foot of board below the water for every so
many square feet of sail.