My C&C story

[cene...@aol.com]

Hey Chuck and others;

My story is much simpler and based mostly on good luck (I have plenty of Irish in me!), serendipity, etc. so here goes:

I came to sailing and racing late in life (took 1st class in sailing in my mid-forties) and purchased a Pearson 28 to sail in the NC rivers and Pamlico Sound. Within the 1st year of ownership I was bitten by the racing bug and have never recovered! 

Several years later, when I had a break from college bills, I decided to look for a bigger boat at the Annapolis show in 1993. Since I was planning to stay in the skinny waters of the NC rivers and sounds, I needed a draft of ~ 5' or most marinas would be difficult to navigate. OTOH, I had raced on a few big boats by then with shallow keels, wing keels, etc. and routinely we were left in the dust by a centerboard boat--named appropriately Centerfold.  Watching that boat sail so well to weather caught my eye for sure--usually from the leeward stern view!!

I went to the show looking for a new boat that would go to weather and that my 6' 2" height would not force me to bend over in the main cabin. I figured that if I was going to spring for a new boat, I damm well was going to be able to stand up in it!

I looked at Sabres, Catalinas, Tartans, etc. and C&Cs that I could 1) stand up fully in the main cabin and 2) that were within my budget. At that time, all of these manufacturers were selling shoal draft boats that had some version of a shoal keel (wing/Scheel/etc.) and all were in the 36 ft range and within my budget.

However, except for C&C, none of them sold or would make a center board model. Of course I also looked at the 37/40 model but that was outside my budget. I also learned from the salesman that C&C had a history of building center-board boats and he showed me a 37/40 CB model and said that the 36 model could be configured with a CB. Further, the inside height was ~ 6' 3".

I had no idea then of C&C's history, racing or otherwise, but it offered a boat that I could stand up inside, I could afford and that would go to weather--I made an offer and the rest is history, including losing the board once when the pennant failed! 

The only thing I would change if I were to do it over again (or get another boat!) would be to get the 37/40 CB model with that great aft-cabin and more all around space. Alas these are few in number and rarely sold although I do scan the ads for them regularly and further, almost never do I see a review or ad for any shoal draft boat with a lifting keel of any kind. 

Charlie Nelson

S/V Water Phantom

1995 C&C 36 XL/kcb

New Bern, NC

[David Knecht]

Hi Charlie- I think I remember Edd Schillay saying that he had removed the centerboard and glassed it over on his 37/40 Enterprise as they had found the board to not give them any advantage racing so was more hassle than it was worth.  I have the WK version of the 34/36 and feel it is a compromise for racing.  How have you found the CB version?  Does putting the board down make a clear difference?  Dave

PS- I will send the full story, but I had a very similar experience of looking for a boat I could stand in the cabin at 6’ 3”.  Nothing else touched the 34/36 in overall design.

S/V Aries

1990 C&C 34+

New London, CT

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[cene...@aol.com]

The utility of the CB in the 37/40 may be less than in my 36, whose CB trunk is at about 4.5 ft. My board increases my draft to ~ 7' 3", about a 60% increase which is substantial IMHO. In addition it lowers the Center of Gravity which can change the feel of the helm especially with an offset weather mark. (This was so noticeable during one race that when I turned to port reaching for the offset mark (after beating for a few miles), the helm eased up so much that I was convinced that we had lost the rudder!!)

When the board is fully down, I find I can point to weather 5-10 degrees better than without it in a 10-15 knot breeze. For lighter air, the difference is less. Downwind, cranking the board up helps with our speed but in a breeze or with chop, she wanders a little without any board down. Between the better pointing upwind and the reduced surface area downwind, I find the board's effects to be an improvement. OTOH, it does require the pit person downwind to do some serious grinding. Even with a 3:1 purchase and a 2 speed Lewmar 30 winch, grinding +900 lbs up quickly is not for those without some serious arm and shoulder power!

I am sure it is true with the 37/40 as with my 36, but the CB trunk is a substantial keel by itself. In my case it is 7 ft long where it begins at the hull, tapering slightly to about 6 ft long at the bottom. Its specifications say it is ~ 5600 lbs of lead and the board itself (perhaps included in the 5600 lbs) weighs in at 924 lbs. This tidbit of knowledge was gained during the board rebuild after the pennant failed with the board up and it swung down hitting the inner surface of the trunk so violently that its momentum sheared the board off completely, leaving only the pin and some scraps of fiberglass and lead behind--but that's another story!

Charlie

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