centerboard

[sen-ter-bawrd, -bohrd]

noun Nautical.

a pivoted fin keel that can be swung upward and aft within a watertight trunk when not in use.

Compare daggerboard.

Origin of centerboard

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; center + board

Also called drop keel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for centerboard

Historical Examples of centerboard

It was long, narrow, and low in freeboard and was fitted with a centerboard.
The Migrations of an American Boat Type
Howard I. Chapelle
I leaped down into the cockpit and quickly lowered the centerboard.
Swept Out to Sea
W. Bertram Foster
You were right in insisting on shallow draught and a centerboard.
Johnstone of the Border
Harold Bindloss
Joe dropped the centerboard and returned, to be stationed at the jib-sheet.
The Cruise of the Dazzler
Jack London
If I could get to the centerboard and drop it, I believed the sloop would ride better and could be steered.
Swept Out to Sea
W. Bertram Foster