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Reply to: daggerboards/centerboards vs. nothing

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[quote=Dogboy]The advantage is (greatly) improved upwind ability.  Daggerboards and centerboards are a lot more efficient at providing lateral resistance for upwind sailing as compared to assymetrical hulls or skegs.

The advantage of davgerboards is they are the more efficient than centerboards since the trunk in the hull is smaller, so less drag.  The down side is that when they are up, you have the daggerboard sticking out the top of the hull, so it clutters the deck somewhat.  Daggerboards are also totally unforgiving when it comes to hitting objects in the water or hitting bottom - they will be damaged.

Centerboards are somewhat less efficient than daggerboards since their shape is restricted by the size of the trunk you’re willing to put in the hull.  The trunk also adds drag to the hull when the boardis down.  But some designs can tolerate impact and riding up onto the beach since they will pivot up when they hit bottom.

The main advantage of boardless boats (assymetrical hull or skeg) is simplicity.  You just push them into the water, put the rudders down, and you’re sailing.  You can sail over just about anything and go right up onto the beach without need to pull up the boards.  You also have instant leeway resistance as soon as the hull is in the water, so if you’re launching in surf with an onshore breeze, you don’t need to worry about getting a board down to start going forward.

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