"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
someone explains the difference, I only mean "the piece of wood that
you stick through the (near) middle of the boat" :-) I know my old
winsurfing board uses a daggerboard so perhaps I should stick to that
name for the sailboat!

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.
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