I sailed my I20 with 3 crew (600 lbs) in 20 - 30 kts during a storm in March in San Diego Bay. We kept the boards down the whole time, upwind, reaching, and downwind, hitting 25 kts at times downwind with the spinnaker. We had absolutely no problems steering (or anything else).<br><br>While I agree it might be a slightly less drag to partially raise them on a long downwind or reaching leg, I have not found any steering- or handling-related reason to do so. <br><br>Alan Thompson<br>I20 - San Diego<br>http://www.whitecaps.net<br><br>P.S. I have never heard of anyone breaking a board, except during the Worrell 1000<br><br>