Joe wrote:
.... I disagree
with Doug assertion that a board is only good for round the bouy
racing. He must be thinking of a dagger board not full keel board like
on RedCloud.


Umm, no, I was thinking of a big heavy full keeled boat like
Oriole.

Centerboards were common on the large racing schooners &
cutters up to the 1930s. These boats had quite a bit of
salient keel anyway, but the CB helped reduce leeway in
lighter winds. Some had two CBs to adjust the balance under
sail.



... Infact with the board down rounding the bouys would be
slower.


Really? In most CB boats, having the board down helps the
boat pivot in turns.

really, she want to go straiter . My board starts 1/3 aft the bow and
drops 6' and the aft end is just forward the center cockpit


... The board all the way down is best to help head futher upwind


Do you mean to point higher or to reduce leeway? Both


and I raise it up to 1/3 down on a downwind run shifting the load aft
like the feather of an arrow keepin her straiter.


Why do you need it for that? Your boat has a skeg, right?

No a full keel with a cutout prop just forward the rudder like this
http://www.varipropusa.com/resources/Full-Keel-pic.gif


Try hauling it all the way up and heeling the boat to
windward like racers do. Faster & easier to steer unless the
wave action is getting up.

Ill give it a try.

BTW Joe comparing your boat to Oriole is like comparing my
boat to the Queen Mary. Totally different scale.

My boat is almost 50% the size of Oriole . The Queen mary 19 time the
length of your trawler.

nautical triva bonus: Under the right condition you can pull the queen
mary with 8 pound test fishing line!

Joe


DSK