26X centerboard angles/let out

[pitchpolehobie]

2002 26X. Most of time I have sailed w the CB all the way down by gravity. What are the right times to put it halfway up or more or less.


I feel like I've seen some conflicting statements in my searches.

[opie]

"The centerboard is most needed when close-hauled and is not needed at all when running. At points in between, the board is needed in varying degrees, like this in general:

Close-hauled: board fully down
Beam reach: board halfway to three-quarters down
Broad reach: board one-quarter down
Run: board fully raised"

above from: https://www.liveabout.com/how-to-use-th ... rd-2915476

Personal note: I use the CB as above but with the guess of mine that the CB center of action needs to be under the mast when using foresail and main, therefore fully down when coming about. That puts the centerboard midway between the action of the foresail and main. With main only, I push the center of action further aft, therefore, under the main, by raising it 35%. Without doing these, I have sometimes found myself unable to turn. It's all a bit of fun to practice in a safe area until you try everything you can think of.

Opie

[mwylia]

There is a page in the Mods Section that relates the centerboard line to the amount of board depth that might be helpful. The link is:
https://macgregorsailors.com/mods/index ... tem&id=841. If the link doesn't work, just go to Mods and search on Centerboard. The title is Centerboard vs line on 26X. I made a copy and keep it on the boat.

[Be Free]

In moderate winds (15 kts):
Close Hauled: all the way down
Close Reach: up about 6 inches
Beam Reach: up about a foot
Broad Reach: up about two feet
Running: about a foot still out (or all the way up if you really want to)

As the winds get lighter you can leave the board down until you are between a close reach and a beam reach. At lower speeds you will not have as much drag and it keeping it down will help with your leeway. Have it up about two feet at a beam reach then bring it up a little quicker for the broad reach and running. Leeway is not really a problem in light winds as the wind moves aft so there's no real point in putting up with much drag.

That's been my experience. Your mileage may vary.

Disclaimer: Most of the time I leave the board down no matter what the point of sail. I usually don't care if I'm squeezing the most speed out of the boat that I can. I've been known to sail all day with the engine down and just picking up the engine will do more speed-wise than anything I can do with the centerboard. I did not buy a MacGregor to go fast under sail. I sold the fast sail boat when I realized I had only sailed it a couple of times since buying the Mac.

[Drifter]

"Partially deployed rudders are easily damaged when exceeding 4 knots."

[Be Free]

I agree 100%. Rudders should always be up or down, never anywhere in between.

[OverEasy]

Hi Mwylia!

Thanks for the Mod link!
You just saved me an hour or more of clamoring up/down in the driveway trying to figure out “rope vs. keel extension”!

We knew the drop wasn’t linear but wanted to know where the keel depth actually was at partial extension positions.
This will come in handy when sailing in shallower waters such as in the extensive ‘mud flats’ we have in our area.

Again, Thanks!

[mwylia]

As my grandmother used to say "You're as welcome as the flowers in May" I'm still working on positioning the centerboard on various points of sail. Knowing how far down it is hasn't always translated into having it where it should be, but I'm getting better. There is a wealth of info from members who aren't as active anymore on getting the most out of these boats' sailing ability. I get a lot of enjoyment out of locking the rudders amidships and then using sail trim and centerboard to try and get her track on a semi-straight line. Sometimes more successfully than others. Opie has posted YouTube videos of his boat tracking pretty well without using the rudders.

[Be Free]

I've sailed for hours (and miles) on the same tack without touching the wheel. When the wind speeds up the boat will move a little higher but will come right back down when the wind drops. It's one of my favorite ways to sail. A couple of throwable boat cushions under my head on the windward side (they are supposed to be immediately available after all), stretched out across the stern seat, listening to the sound of the water. That's my idea of a good time.