Brief Demo of the Capabilities of Eduardo Cordero and Paul-Jon Patin's: Starboard Passage LLc, a Sailing Coaching Company - personalized for every instance www.Starboadpassage.com
the rudder is moved to "release" the building helm as the boat is affected by the waves, heel of the boat and sail trim. The centerboard is raised going away from the wind, you need the board some what down to allow the boat to turn in the waves, slightly below where the aft edge tapers is a good all purpose height, any higher can be very slow if the boat rolls side to side unnaturally or if you are unable to turn without forcing the helm (tiller) to do so.
Nice moves and happy sailing! Please bear with me a beginner question: what's the point to keep the center-board up (and lift it even upper during the run) ? Isn't it supposedly to be positioned full down to make sailing stabler? Thanks a lot.
the primary purpose of the centerboard (or daggerboard in this case (in small,unballasted boats such as the sunfish) is not for stability but for lateral resistance.The closer you sail toward the direction the wind is comming from the more lateral resistance you need.The only time you need the board all the way down is when you are trying to make as much upwind as possible.Without the board the boat could only sail directly downwind.You dont need anything to resist the sideways push while sailing downwind (because there isnt any). Thats why the board is often pulled all the way up on a downwind run, because on that point of sail ,all it is doing is producing drag and slowing you down.
Im thinking to buy one of those for me and my children. I know the basics of sailing and I am sure I can handle it at the beginning. My problem is the rigging, why are there so many lines and strings and ropes ? Why can't I have only one rope in my hand to let go the sail or pull it back ? What do all the other ropes do ? (I know its a dumb question but I have never sailed anything, so please bear with me thanks)
On a normal sunfish, there are really only 2 lines: the halyard, which is used to raise and lower the sail; and the mainsheet, which is used to control the angle of (trim) the sail. Really the only other rope you might see is one thing the dagger board to the mast to prevent it from falling off in a capsize.
The line controls are actually much more simple to manage than you might imagine. Email me if you would like a brief on the set up and process pj@starboardpassage(dot)com
