Hobie Cat Forums

Hi,

How shallow can the water be that you sail in with the centerboard down? I'm afraid of damaging the centerboard and have no real sense of when to pull the centerboard up, based upon depth of water?

Thanks

I assume that you are refering to a Ti's centreboard, as opposed to an Ai's daggerboard. They are quite different in operation, as the centreboard, being hinged, will simply "kick up" when it hits bottom. I don't have an Ai, but I suspect you have to manually pull it up.

Yesterday I was sailing my Ti in water of varying depth, and could easily see the seabed, so was tacking within maybe 10 feet of weed which was close enough to the surface to calm the water.

Bottom line? A couple of feet of water is enough

My AI crosses shallow reefs all the time in as little as 1 foot of water. The board has to be up for that and the drives tight against the hull. Sometimes the rudder needs to be up too, but you can still steer with the sail.

The AI's dagger still projects down a few inches when folded all the way back. It usually hits bottom first and folds back on its own. If you expect you are going to land or ground it, you need to pull it all the way out early. Not after.

It takes discipline. But knowing the charts, the tides and your boats tolerance for pain helps.

The TI's 'centreboard' is pretty robust. We've forgotten to pull it up a few times when beaching. No damage done as it kicks up automatically as Tony stated. If you're in water that is too shallow then I'd be more worried about the rudder being damaged. Uncleating the rudder and steering with a paddle works well but you need a stiffer paddle than the Hobie double. I have a single paddle just for that.
The AI's daggerboard will kick back as long as it is pushed all the way down in its housing. The bungee stretches and it pivots back.

i think you should worry about the mirage drive pedals more than the board. also just make sure the rudder is not cleated like previously mentioned.

When the water looks shallow ahead I ease the centerboard up so it's not locked down. I unlock the rudder and hold it tight manually. As soon as the centerboard touches the bottom, I flip the mirage drive flat and release the rudder. If shallows are extensive, I hold the centerboard just above the bottom letting it touch occasionally and maintain course

Cheers

J

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

so which actually is the longest point underneath the TI? Is the dagger-board longer or the mirage drive if the fins are pointed straight down?

On the TI: centerboard is deepest.

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod

2 other considerations:

The AI/TI daggerboards can and should often be raked at lower angles.

The TI centerboard is difficult to operate (and easy to forget about) for some people, while solo sailing the rear. So response times may be much slower on the TI.