Dear Zen girl! You sound like a great lady--and you'll continue to do great things with your boat--centerboard or not!. As a suggestion--when you pose a question, why not consider providing a bit more detail and background and a bit about what you need to know, your plans and your goals? Keep in mind that for many of your questions, the basics are often already answered online and in
books and so many sources. Do you already own this
boat? Why did you get a
boat in Connecticut and you are in
Texas? What else do you want to know about your boat? In general the Bristols were top production boats and many, many people
cruise all over in them. You have gotten good answers about
keel centerboards. Anytime you pose a question here, you get a lot of opinions and sometimes folks argue as if we were talking abortion rights or gun control. Everyone has an opinion, so the more specific your questions, the more likely yu'll get a helpful series of answers. A lot of sailors, generally the novices and less experienced think it is all about the boat when more often than not,
safety and enjoyment and good sailing is about seawomanship and leadership. Same for anchoring--people here fight and argue about anchors but similarly, good
anchoring is just as much about choosing a good spot and setting it right than it is about the
anchor itself. Adios!