Finally upgraded to a displacement, meet my Stealthy new friend.

[kooksrule]

all displacement boards are going to be different for thier optimal nose depth/position... likewise, the same model board will have a different optimal nose depth/position 12'6 compared to its 14ft twin...

trial and error is the only way to find out what it is for each board... a taller and heavier person would even have a different standing area than a shorter lighter person, when you reach your weight shifts, so a taller person would most likely have more weight "leaning" forward at the reach dipping the nose down.

Also, if the deck of your rig is flat, like a moster 404 you are not going to want a lot of water habitually splashing over onto the deck it will weigh you down and thus slow you down... An M&M in contrast is designed with a rounded deck to shed that water. That doesnt mean you want to paddle it like a submarine but there is going to be a normal amount of water coming onto the deck going into light to moderate chop,

[PonoBill]

You can tell to some degree by feel, and better yet, by GPS speed. The quickest way is to have someone look at the tail while you shuffle forwards. When the board is flat and the tail is at the midline, you're close.

You trim will vary somewhat with conditions, but people that are used to planing hulls generally stand too far back on displacement hulls because they are used to seeing the nose out of the water. With a flat or minimal rocker board if your nose is out of the water the board is tilted, and tilted is plowing water.

You also want all the waterline you can get to reach maximum hull speed. I've been seeing some folks tiling their boards when they're pushing hard, and whether that's a paddling artifact or they've found some speed there, it's possible that it's a little faster because a curved waterline is longer than a straight one.

[Chilly]

You also want all the waterline you can get to reach maximum hull speed. I've been seeing some folks tiling their boards when they're pushing hard, and whether that's a paddling artifact or they've found some speed there, it's possible that it's a little faster because a curved waterline is longer than a straight one.

Bill, what do you mean by tiling the board?

[PonoBill]

Standing to the side of center so one rail comes out of the water and the other is buried a little deeper. That reduces the amount of board in firm contact with the water. and on a curved board the rail is longer than the centerline length. You might think that wouldn't effect hull speed, but the tubby racing sailboats of the 80's proved otherwise. Of course they were playing tricks with their stern and bow as well, but a lot of the waterline gain was simply the curve.

The difference in hull speed between 12'6" ( 4.77 knots) and 13' (4.86) is a little over  2 percent. Not sure if you can gain six inches by leaning, but maybe.

[Chilly]

The Tubby sailboat painted a perfect picture of what you meant. Thanks

[stoneaxe]

Adios is quite right, the trim is a big deal. If the nose isn't touching it's not a 12'6". You want to move forward until you keep it skimming, or even planted. The tail will release water more easily if there's less weight on it, and you definitely don't want a tail-down situation--that's a water wedge.

The Speedboard I raced in Boston needed my weight well forward. I had my toes past the pad most of the time. It was six steps back to pivot turn the board.

I'll add to that. When I 1st tested the Speedboard that Bill raced Bob Blair (designer) was paddling right behind me. He said "Move forward 3 inches it will help the tail release" I made a small adjustment forward and could feel the boards increased glide. Freaky just how sensitive it is.

[NoSaltSuper]

(Maurice, I'll be there Sat. for sure)

Getting more time on this board and really liking it!

Amazing how you can apply more weight to the opposite side you're paddling to keep the board going straight. Or, apply more weight to the same side as paddle to make the board turn.

Now I finally understand what people mean by "secondary stability". At first it felt really tippy to me, until I realize it wasn't actually going to tip once the secondary stability took effect.

So for my pivot turns, turning left for instance, I step back as far as the cockpit allows with my left foot on left of board and my right foot and more weight, is right up against the right rail. Burying the right rail, raising the nose and weighting the back, gives me a decent, if not super quick pivot turn.

I've also been experimenting with fore/aft position, I'm pretty far forward, to the point my toes are off the pad and onto the carbon. Which it turns out is perfect for upwind, but does make my toes go numb. This board paddles into the wind wonderfully and with the rounded hull, sheds water easily, so fun.

Here's my track from yesterday. I took breaks after every lap or two and my hydration system was acting up, causing me to coast while tweaking. But still, you can see that my upwind speed was only about 1 mph slower than downwind, on a day with winds blowing 10-15. I bet you can tell by the track which way the wind was blowing.

http://runkeeper.com/user/eslrichey/activity/107362161