Upwind daggerboard installation on a production displacement sailboat

[peterchech]

I have a hunter 25 with shoal draft keel, drawing 2'11". The boat goes upwind, but due to the keel and the fact that I rarely have much crew aboard to straighten up the boat, it's upwind performance leaves much to be desired especially as wind speed kicks up.

Many racing boats have canted daggerboards (think mini 650) just ahead of the unheeled clr that are lowered when beating upwind. Mostly this is on boats with a canting keel.

The j-108 is a shallow draft j boat that has the same draft as me, but has a centerboard for upwind work. According to a review linked on the manufacturers website This really helps the boat climb to windward.

I bought my boat for $1400 and don't care much about cabin space or resale value. I have some experience with fiberglass and have built a few small boats. My question is, has anyone put lifting canted daggerboards on a displacement production sailboat to get some better upwind performance? Assuming I have the time and skill to do it, is there any reason this couldn't work? I am thinking a 15 degree can't to the boards would be perfect, with maybe a 2 degree toe in. They would be located about a foot ahead of the upright clr. The exit point would be above the upright waterline, and the cases glassed to a bulkhead. Thoughts? Ideas?

The other idea I had was possibly shifting water ballast, maybe installed under the settees...

[Faster]

Interesting idea... but there's always a but.....

I'd think you'd want some designer input to a project like that in order to have any real success.. but if you want to experiment I suppose you've got the ideal vehicle for that.

Finding a hurricane boat with a deep keel might be your most cost effective way to improve things with fewer question marks. Swap keels and there you go (unless you need the shoal draft feature)

Water ballast would work best up under the deck edge, transfer systems can get complicated for a practically useful set up; probably mostly a no go for short trips and short tacking to windward.

[KIVALO]

I have no idea if anyone has done this or even tried it but this sounds like a cool project. If you do decide to tackle it, please post pics.

Brad
s/v KIVALO

Originally Posted by peterchech

I have a hunter 25 with shoal draft keel, drawing 2'11". The boat goes upwind, but due to the keel and the fact that I rarely have much crew aboard to straighten up the boat, it's upwind performance leaves much to be desired especially as wind speed kicks up.

Many racing boats have canted daggerboards (think mini 650) just ahead of the unheeled clr that are lowered when beating upwind. Mostly this is on boats with a canting keel.

The j-108 is a shallow draft j boat that has the same draft as me, but has a centerboard for upwind work. According to a review linked on the manufacturers website This really helps the boat climb to windward.

I bought my boat for $1400 and don't care much about cabin space or resale value. I have some experience with fiberglass and have built a few small boats. My question is, has anyone put lifting canted daggerboards on a displacement production sailboat to get some better upwind performance? Assuming I have the time and skill to do it, is there any reason this couldn't work? I am thinking a 15 degree can't to the boards would be perfect, with maybe a 2 degree toe in. They would be located about a foot ahead of the upright clr. The exit point would be above the upright waterline, and the cases glassed to a bulkhead. Thoughts? Ideas?

The other idea I had was possibly shifting water ballast, maybe installed under the settees...

[ctl411]

I think you could put a centerboard in the stock keel. Less cabin wasted and easier to adjust for weather does helm. If the keelbolts are on centerline they would have to be moved out.