Mooring Technique

[SNagy]

Comments on the best way for my keel/centerboard sloop to sit on her mooring - board up or board down?

Thanks in advance.

-Steve

[Ian McColgin]

Depends on the weight and configuration. If you've a light CB in a weighted keel, then absolutely up, as with any centerboarder.

If it's a weighted swing keel, then keel up gives the best sharing of strain between the pendant and pin and the least banging about.

A lot of swing keels bang disagreeably if the boat is hobbyhorsing over steep head seas. This will happen if the angle of the keel is verticle enough that the keel's tendency to stay verticle in the water causes it to enter the trunk a bit everytime the bow lifts and then clunk when the pendent takes the strain as the bow dips on the other side of the wave.

Something like this can happen at the mooring. Some swing keel boats have a locking pin to counter this, but it's not too good. Most just don't lower the keel below 45 degrees and hope for not too steep a wave.

But even if you've a locking pin, the keel will bang about less if fully housed in the trunk. You'll also have more effective toxins around the keel and in the trunk so you'll be less likely to get growth in those hard to reach crevasses.

The only reason for leaving a swing keel down would be if the boat is very ill behaved at the mooring, tacking about insanely, and if lowering the keel makes a big enough difference to off-set the other disadvantages.

G'luck

[SNagy]

Thanks Ian. The boat is a 1916 Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 15. The centerboard is pie-shaped and goes through the lead keel on a pivot. As you suggest, I'll keep the board up.

Thanks for the advice.

-Steve

[Hwyl]

Boy, Ian. I thought I could offer some advice here. You made me redundant.