OFFSETTING THE POWER SOURCE
Imagine owning a small powerboat and storing the outboard engine off the boat when not in use. Imagine attaching the engine to the middle of the back of the boat and centralising the steering. When the boat is put in forward gear which way will it go? The answer, of course is forwards, in a straight line.
Now imagine that one day you ask a friend to attach the engine for you – a friend who does not quite know what to do – and let’ s say that they attach it securely to the back of the boat but, instead of putting it in the middle, they erroneously position it far over to the left hand side. Now which way will the boat go in forward gear? Even with the steering centralized the boat will turn right and we need to appreciate why. The force pushing the boat forwards is no longer acting on it centrally. With one side being pushed effectively and the other side experiencing drag then the boat will turn as it pivots around the side that is feeling neglected.
Try it. Take your phone and place it on a table directly in front of you with a short edge facing you. Place your index finger in the middle of the short edge and push the phone forwards. It should travel in a straight line away from you. This represents a balanced power source. Now try it again but this time place your finger on one end of the short side and push it forwards. The phone should turn smoothly to the opposite side as it moves forwards. This represents an offset power source.
So when we lean the rig forwards and towards the wind we throw the CE not only in front of the CLR but, crucially, over the windward side of the board. This provides more power to the windward side than the leeward side so the windward side is propelled forwards more effectively than the leeward side – and it is this that turns the board downwind.
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SURFING