Board down, when?

[LarryE]

Strange thing in Friday night Beer Can race.
We are sailing to the finish, government mark, wind dead behind, going OK for light winds.
Wind shifts straight on the beam. We adjusted sails and still going well, for light air.
Forgot that the daggerboard is still all the way up. Let the board down, speed dropped 1.2 kts.
At what point of sail does the board up hurt. Beer Cans always have some reaching legs.
Maybe we discovered something here.

[Jay]

We're new the class and have the same type of question; when do you take it up and when do you let it down? I come from R Class and 8 Meter sailing and my partners from a J33.

Also; how do you shift gears in light wind (under 5 kts)? She seems to stall in very light breeze and we can't seem to find the combination to maintain momentum.

Thanks! Jay

[BarryE]

When I was younger and more competitive I would pull the board up when going downwind, or nearly downwind in winds under 10 knots. Over 10 knots I didn't bother since the steering with board up is a bit squirrely. Now, I just leave it down all the time. As far as light air, you need to remember the 7.9 weighs less than a 1/3 of those other boats. Momentum is very much a factor of moving mass. I used to sail 6 meters so I know where you're coming from. Once a meter boat gets moving nothing will stop it. The 7.9 is light enough to accelerate quickly, but will decelerate just as quickly. For light air I just loosen up everything, don't over trim, park some crew on the leeward side, etc and try to keep it moving.