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I spent quite a few years sailing on a couple of different E-Scows which used lee boards. Imagine a 28' long surfboard with sails a boom that extended well over the transom and running backstays. These flat bottomed, planing monohulls were typically sailed with a fairly significant heel and so there was a real advantage to having the board on the low side. The boat also had dual rudders. I think that the leeboards can impact the degree of weather helm. Just as the leeward shift of the CE as a boat heels increases weather helm, you are shifting the CR to leeward which should reduce it. The downside is that you have to be pretty quick in swapping the boards when you tack. Once they are under load, they are very difficult to move, so you'd better set them right as you come through the wind. This increases the number of crew necessary as you need a dedicated person to swap the boards as you tack. Ditto the backstays.
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