Timbo, normally we let the boards all the way forward for upwind and then pull them back before bearing away at the top mark to go downwind. You pull them back as much as needed and this can be done from the wire with most boats, just like adjusting your mast rotation. The rake systems generally have tight bungies that retract the deck sliders forward when the rake adjuster line is released.
The eXploders have come delivered with a system that allows adjustment of both boards from either side with a single line. The DNAs have been re-rigged in the US by their owners for this system too and I would guess the F1 has it built in.
In lighter air you need more lift and pull the boards back farther. In heavier winds, you are going faster and so the boards produce enough lift with a smaller adjustment. If you are sailing downwind and the boat isn't foiling, you can step back and help get lift off.
As boats begin to foil upwind, you may not have to adjust the boards at all. I don't know.
At first it seemed like the boats were getting more complicated to sail but over time we are finding they are getting simpler than the older ones. My process before the top mark is to pull the boards back and ease the rotator from the wire. So pull one line a foot or so and ease another the same and just play the mainsheet. Eventually I ease the traveler too. That is all you do until you reach the bottom mark. No need to adjust outhaul or raise boards or even cunningham now though it can be nice to ease the cunningham if I need power.
Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like it's pretty much one setting for upwind, one for downwind, and you don't have to play with it too much while you are out on the wire, I'm guessing you do have to move your weight around, forward and back, to fine tune the ride height once up out of the water? And what happens in bigger waves or chop that's high enough to hit the front beam? Do you go up and over it, or plow through it? So both dagger boards stay full down all the time too, is that correct? And the adjustment is only a few inches between forward and back setting?
What happens if you pick up a weed or a trash bag on the bottom of the foil?
