Rules Explained – Class Rules – Daggerboard

by Antonio Bari

The Daggerboard rule is one of the rules that has seen more changes than any other. To put it simply, in the 90 years and more of Snipe’s life, three different shapes have been approved, the last in 1976.

In this millennium the changes have mainly concerned the “use” of the daggerboard to standardise measurements and prevent cheating.

Let’s summarise the current rules.

According to the long-standing rules, the daggerboard must not project more than 851mm and not less than 305mm below the keel during racing. In addition, a line must be attached to the board and the top of the daggerboard case to prevent loss of the board in the event of a capsize.

To comply with these regulations, stoppers are fitted to prevent excessive draught, the safety line must be no longer than 610mm and a band is painted on the board to control the maximum extension.

All these procedures can be done by the sailor himself and can be tricky even for experienced sailors. In recent years new procedures have been introduced to simplify the whole system. For boats built from 2001 (after the standardisation of the daggerboard case), the top of the band is placed at 615mm + the distance from the top of the case to the top of the deck on the centreline of the boat, taken from the bottom of the board at 90° from the leading edge.

Much simpler. For boats built up to 2000, the 615mm measure is changed with 305mm + the height of the case, taken at the forward of the slot.

In addition, the 305mm rule has been removed for boats built from 2001 onwards. Does this rule penalise older boats? Not at all. Taking into account the tolerances allowed for the case height, the difference can be less than 5mm. Not a factor when sailing downwind. In any case, the maximum height of the daggerboard is visually checked with the alignment of the top of the band and the deck, taking into account the length of the safety line.

Further more, remember that the latest rules also require that

• the diameter of the safety line must be at least 4mm (1mm if wire)
• no soft shackles are allowed
• the band on the daggerboard must extend the full width on both sides
• the height of the daggerboard, when lifted, can only be fixed by a flipping tablet or the old style hook and cutouts system.

A tape, other than paint, may be used to mark the band; such tape shall be approved by the Technical Committee.

Further details can be found in the Snipe Class Rules, C.8.4 at Class Rules 2025 (or read below).

Finally, what are the most common types of cheating? Mainly two.

• Placing the board up with the band above deck level, even though the safety line is connected.
• Disconnecting the safety line and holding the board above the maximum height.

In both cases the boat can be penalised, also under protest of the Technical Committee of the event.

Antonio Bari

Note: the photos were taken before the effectiveness of the “full width band” rule.