| TECH Project. | |||||||||||
| The Keel! | |||||||||||
|
The centerboard is a adjustable wooden or metal blade projecting through the bottom
of the hull in the center of the boat. The keel is the same idea but it is not adjustable. The advantage of a adjustable centerboard over a fixed keel is that if the boat sails into shallow water the centerboard can be retracted to allow passage. The keel/centerboard plays two important roles in the sailing of a sailboat. First it acts as a weight to counteract the forces of the wind on the sail. This weight prevents the boat from tipping over in strong wind and storms. This weight is also a counterbalance which helps the boat stay in an upright position.
The keels second role prevents the boat from side slipping. The side slip of a boat decreases as the boat sails farther away from the wind. When you are sailing with the wind there will be no side slip there for the keel/centerboard is not needed and should be retracted to reduce drag. On the other hand, when sailing close to the wind the centerboard should be all the way down to counteract the side slip. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
| 
Email me at: 
[email protected] | |||||||
|
This page has been visited
|