After sitting out the days when its too windy for my crew. I've finally purchased an older A class just to use on heavy days, when I cant get the stingray crewed cant blame the crew its my 10 year old daughter and she loves racing <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. Bought a new sail and guess what first day of the season and too windy for half the club boats but I was first on the water and had a ball <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />. Lot of tuning to do but it reacted to every subtle alteration immediately. The centre boards tend to come up at inconvenient times, has anybody got a really simple way to lock the boards down without much in the way of deck or tramp clutter. Will post a pic at a latter date couldnt get anyone to stand on the beach to take photos regards Jeff

congrats ... enjoy.. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

HI,
To maintain your centerboards, usually A Cat sailors use a rubber between th top leading edge of the centerboard and the front crossbeam. You manage the lenght of the rubber in order it is tight when centerboard is up and just a little tension when it is down.
An alternative is to glue carpet inside the centerboard's hole just below the deck, and if you can get it I personnally used some Teflon with one side with brown treatment and it can be glued by this face so I adjusted it tightly around the centerboard in order that even a little piece of sand cannot go through. It worked very well durind a few weeks and when a little piece of sand finally went throught the surface of the board got some vertical "lines".
Congratulation for your new boat.
According to my experience if you put an half degree angle (leading edge inside the boat) or around 2mm for 250 mm chord; it will improve your performance upwind.

Sorry former msg can look fuzzy, I glue the carpet at the top (just below the deck level But the Teflon is glued at the keel level)
I think I used both Teflon & Carpet.

Did you buy a Boyer MK??

Thanks Erwankerauzen it has carpet inside so I'll try the teflon, I've got a big chunk of it. The carpet holds reasonably so a bit of teflon will probably do the trick. The boat is a homebuild ply MK3 design I think. Has Boyer flush MK3 centreboards and kick up rudders, the modern bend on the traveller, new diagonal cut tramp, repainted etc. Been buying bits of Greg Goodall he made up new stay wires with diform to suit the boat. Having nothing on the deck sure is nice but getting on the wire in swell and plenty of wind was hectic to say the least <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. I'll have to get a better technique, on the stingray there are plenty of fittings to wedge your feet against.regards Jeff

Hi Jeff
I used a 1mm thick Teflon. The stripe was about 2/3cm wide.
I first put it around the centerboard section, with thin plastic protection to protect and for glue thickness.
Then I positioned it into the hull upside down, and fill with charged resin, no glue at this stage, then after drying, you sandpaper and acetone it put the Contact/ neopren glue, and fix the Teflon without the centerboard first and then put the centerboard with some WD 40 in order that the friction does not move the Teflon.
After with a razor blade you cut the Teflon according to the keel line.

MK3 is fast in choppy water with strong wind, at least compared to Italian A Cat I used to sail.

Good wind

EK

Thanks EK I'm going to have a go at it today with the teflon. The boat certainly want well in the chop and wind last weekend a couple of times about 5ft of the lee bow was under but she pulled out just when I thought I was gone
regards

I met Greg Goodall at the World in France in 1993, a very pleasant guy,he explained me his design philosophy involving a unusual trade off between wetted area.
But according to Glenn Ashby, no brainer, new shapes are faster and tack easily, anyway as you noticed, your shape is very forgiving in choppy water and you can push hard in the strong winds.

Good Sailing

EK