Which Sailboat Keel is the WORST? Ep 233 - Lady K Sailing
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2024
- Today we're looking at which sailboat keel to chose for caribbean sailing, lake sailing, liveaboard sailboats, and sailboat racing. We talk about Beneteau, Hunter, Jeanneau, and Hunter sailboats and sailing bahamas and Caribbean. We take a look at full keel sailboats, fin keel sailboats, and modified fin keel sailboats.
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Don't blame me, you clicked this! 😂😂😂
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This comment deserves to be pinned
That is the internet in a nutshell.
A lead keel…
Shoutout to the Bilge Keel, the only keel you intentionally run aground because they are often designed to sit on their keels on the ground
Full-on love for the Bilge Keel. No need to worry about anchoring when you can just beach it.
Haha... I came to the comments to say just this too.
Here on the east coast of England Bilge keel also now known as a double keel are the standard type for coastal sailing.
Tides out, you beach your boat, take a nap and wait for some water. Cheap moorings too, as you don't need a deep water mooring.
Well if you like sailing a tugboat
@@ralphe5842 Only someone with an incredibly small penis would make a comment like this.
I like my twin keeler because I don't need a cradle to keep it upright on the hard, where she spends her life waiting for me to finish restoring her! 😊
All the while being deformed from gravity sucking down the hulls.
Finish it or sell, scrap it its meant to be sailed... NOT STORED😢.😢😢😢
@@Boatyarddog Typical yank reply!! Not a clue most of you, even the guy making this video doesn't know what he's talking about.
@@jonathansimmonds5784 your first sentence just invalidated anything you have to say.
@@Boatyarddog Also, since you obviously don't realize these boats do quite well spending time drying out during twice a day low tides as they are designed for. Like yourself spending your days waiting for 4:20 pm to have a toke!
Never owned one. Are you able to kedge off by healing the vessel over when you run aground?
Having owned a number of sailboats with various configurations and not being a die hard racing sailor but rather a cruiser, the best boat for me was a cutaway full keel with a retractable (swing) 8:23 centre board. This configuration gave me the best of all choices, a easy sea manner, shoal draft, good pointing ability all by adjusting the swing keel!
I've never sailed modern ships.
This sounds interesting.
I wonder how full keels compare with the Åfjordsbåt I've tried when I was younger.
Wow I was just thinking something similar 🤔. But I'd combine a swing-keel with a fin keel with a winged ballast bulb (parallelogram linkage) whose angle of attack may be adjusted as required.
Totally agree. I have a 42 ft. Hinckley Sou'wester with this kind of keel. 4 ft. 9 in. with the centerboard up, 9 ft. with it down. Tracks like it's on rails with the CB down.
I just bought my first boat in February and boy did I have information overload when I first started looking. I chose the safe route of a full keel and had my eyes out for a cape dory 28 or 30, ALMOST bought an Alberg 30 in Florida to sail back to Texas, but ended up with the best boat out of all those with a Perry design, a Baba 30. It’s a solid(non cored) full keel with cutaway forefoot, inboard diesel, cutter rigged boat that weighs 12.5k with a 10.5ft beam and a 4.75ft draft. Older boat so had to do some maintenance and repairs so will be splashing this week and taking her on maiden voyage this weekend!
All of those boats are good examples of a moderate keel length, which is desirable offshore.
@@timdunn2257 I would consider the 4.75ft draft mine has as moderate
I have a 1978 Oday with an encapsulated lead shoal keel with a centerboard. It is perfect for shallow the shallow bay where you run aground on shifting sandy shoals, without losing too much maneuverability on a bay with light wind.
My friend has a '79 O'Day 37. It's like a barge on rough water and cruises along in comfort. But try to do a standing turn in a marina? Yeah, about that barge...
been following this guy for a couple years and explains matters very simplified...works for me. lol
The more I watch your videos, the more I am impressed by the breadth of your knowledge. There is something here for everyone. Both newbies and old salts.😂
A bathtub full of VW Beatles is my favorite 😄
100 years ago, my brother and I had a 22 ft comet and a lighter lightning' Sailing and racing on lakes, a drop centerboard gave us maneuverability, good attack into the wind and SPEED. Pull it up when docking, drop it down when working
I was looking for a boat with world travel potential and I love many of the full keel boats but I was attracted to the added performance and maneuverability benefits of the modified fin keel. Some of my favorite "blue water" boats like the Valiant 40 and passport 40 have that layout.
The ending referencing the Delos keel was an excellent addition. Every boat is a balance of specifications. If you run a fin keel it would be wise to have excellent chart plotters and night vision cameras to detect flotsam or fishing gear and keep you off the rocks.
get a grip. i've sailed my fin keel and spade rudder 25,000 miles. what you say makes no sense. you're an armchair sailor dude.
I loved that he used the corvette for the sports car reference. Considering the corvette was named after a sailboat. Awsome job with that.
I've always liked the way u explain things for people who are novices and even hardened yachties who thought they knew everything. Thanks heaps. 🇦🇺🌈👣
Thank you. Can you do one on mono hauls , fibreglass, composite and aluminum next. Or what ever material and why. ? I’m dreaming of the North Atlantic. Thank you.
I can only advise you not to believe everything he says. He's been on a boat once in a while but the generalisations you hear on this channel are borderline dangerous if you attach to much confidence in whatr he says. He's NOT a certified expert on boats although he does try to give that impression. You're better off trusting someone who has certifications. Then at least you know you get your moneys worth of advice.
@@SuperDirk1965 Thanks Dirk much appreciate ur advice, cheers🌈👍
Oh dear, this is my whole point, talk about the blind leading the even more blind!!
Stop watching videos posted by people think they are experts when in reality they are not!
@jonathansimmonds5784 look at it as astute observations from an experienced sailor thus a very good guide in the right direction ü
Another well done video. I have had a swing keel, wing keel and now have a long chord fin keel at 7 feet of draft. It is a great compromise as it is stable, fast and has a very good motion in a sea way. She surfs well for a 43 year old boat (Nordic 44). The compromise is when we get to the east side of the states towards the end of our circumnavigation we will have to deal with some shoal areas. We are currently anchored in 9 feet of water in French Polynesia sitting out a blow. Many shoal draft boats that we know still don’t take advantage of their small draft.
Good info and delivery. Thanks
Thanks for the video, very informative.
Thank you so much for your great podcasts.
Wow excellent information, what I was looking for. The boat I bought is heavy and with a very small keel, but the shape of the hull also works.
Enjoyed this balanced and informative article. It's also obvious that the author knows what he's talking about.
I really like this channel. I know very little about sailboats. But here I learn something new every time.
Telling me about keels letting me learn from an experience sailor is what I need.
I think my choice would be a full keel or many a modified, I don’t want to need deep water everywhere I want to anchor. 5 ft isn’t bad but any more would be a pain I think. There is a area I want to be able to get into and that is Lake Sabine in Texas. I am not sure what kind of keel I would need for that. But it dose have some pretty shallow areas.
For many years I had a '91 MacGregor 26 (not the later motor sailor one). The centerboard was an extreme wing, but with it and the rudder up, she drew about a foot. All the pro's and con's you mentioned applied in spades. But, I could trailer it from Ohio down to the Keys or Miami to cross the Gulf Stream and cruise the near Bahamas, and did several times. Because of the water ballast, it sat on the trailer at about 6,000 lbs. with the 8 horse Johnson, and a six cylinder mini van could haul it. Yes it was "crank" , had lots of leeway, and flew around at anchor like it was trying to escape. But the outboard used only about 6 gallons of gas for an entire season on Lake Erie, it maneuvered great, and could point very high. You are completely correct, in that it is all about your requirements. And also right about WHEN to sail... the only times I ever got into trouble, was when I pushed it.
You do a great job of guiding people away from "future-proofing" their decision. I have mellowed out, myself, over the years and learn to appreciate both the highlights and lowlights of anything. Unless one is heck-bent to be a top racer - tomorrow - there is much fun learning along the way, including the temperament of a boat. It is more important to learn your particular boat than buy the best spec'ed boat for your use.
My Erickson 35 nearly killed me in 30' waves.
@@timdunn2257 Sounds like a good interview for Tim to do with you - bring some user experiences into the vids.
My personal choice is a steel or aluminium boat with twin or bilge keels. Shallow draft, one keel is upright under way and easy to beach for maintenance and will stay upright if "beached" by accident and a very strong part is in contact with the land or reef. They are much quicker than most people realise also.
I have a 26' bilge keel and love sailing her around the uk, she might not be amazing sailing to windward but for comfort and abilty to shallow out and dry out she is perfect. Cleaning the hull costs me nothing apart from a day out on a beach. I can go into islands and not worry about depths too much at all. 3' draft is nothing.
Was hoping he'd talk about the binge, they don't seem a common over in the USA at least but seems like it would be a nice alternative also...
I think the UK is where bilge keel boats belong.
@@timdunn2257 Only because you lot are so ignorant that you don't know what you are talking about.....
@@attainableaudio4533 They are good when you have large sandy tidal flats or river estuaries
What's the name of your centaur?😂
My little Hurley 22 is a cross between a fin and a longkeel, (a short longkeel) with internal ballast, no keel bolts and 42% ballast, she rides the swell as good as many larger boats and as she carries very little windage.
I've owned a range of sailboats from Contessa 32's to a Samfire 26, but for pottering along the coast single handed, i really rate the Hurley's keel.
Great video & thanks for the IP shout out! We cruise the Chesapeake Bay & the 4' draft works well in the creeks & channels.
Saw the title and thought " another youtube expert " to my very pleasant suprize you did an excellent job of explaining a very complicated topic
Good review of the options and compromises with various keel designs. I always thought our Morgan 32 shallow draft keel (5') with a skeg hung rudder was the perfect vessel for coastal cruising out of Panama City FL. The keel stepped mast was added peace of mind. The Morgan was great for getting in and out of shallow anchorages. And dream trips to the Keys and Bahamas. But gotta admit a friend's Endeavor 42 that I had a chance to sail on in the Bahamas was a very comfortable experience in varied conditions. A riding sail helped at anchor in windy conditions.
Excellent video, thank you!
Good content as always
I can't say I have a lot of experience in sailing. But our 1965 Van de Stadt Andromeda 50 with it's modified hull sails beautifully. 7Bf and only the 25m² Fok (jib) and we averaged 9kts while not noticing the 1,5m waves. So comfortable and even in the numerous small harbours in Greece it was so maneuverable that we only needed our ship length to turn. Great sailing on something like that
Great video, many thanks 🙏
Never have sailed but I plan to make sailing my last hobby. These vids are so helpful! Thanks.
Best of luck to you!
I started this year. It was a whole lot less expensive than I expected it would be, and the sailing community has been really kind and helpful. I wish I'd have started years ago now I've gotten into it.
Great information, thanks
I had an O'Day 23 PopTop, 4.5ft keel with 5' of centerboard that gave her draught of 9'6" a nice ride, and she pointed up really well.
Thank you, mate! I'd love to 'Patreon' you but I'm a modest, working, family guy who does sail a modest sailboat in the uk (very expensive for any kind of boat ownership). Just want to say thanks for the great content and for giving good advice to 'normal yachties'! fair winds,brother!
Great information! Thanks
I used to love the annual cleaning and re-painting of the bottom of the Triton an (Alberg designed boat) I used to crew on, on the Chesapeake Bay. I just loved being in the boatyard and seeing the variety of hulls. What's below the waterline of a sailboat is just as beautiful as what's up top. I had a sunfish as a kid, spent summers at Greenwood Lake NY which had a very active Star fleet that raced most weekends. The Star is a beautiful design with a bulb keel and most of the Star owners kept their boats dangling in the air during the week to keep the bottoms from getting fouled.
Great explanation!!! thanks a lot 😊
Very good! Thank you.
thanks - i have just finished a Med flotilla having had power vessels all of my life. I plan is to spend a couple of years sailing with my wife. We thought we would do some sailing holidays first before committing to the purchase of a yacht. i'm already learning so much from your videos! 👌😁
As an owner of both a fin keel and a full length keel boats, a following sea means a great deal more tiller control as the fin keel boat swivels with the wind as each wave passes underneath. The fin keel has on many occasions sailed at 8 knots, while we are much more comfortable at 5 knots on our full keel boat. Following seas are not problem for the full keel boat.
Good info, thank you!
Thanks for the info, Tim! Full keel Cabo Rico 34 FTW!!
Enjoyed the video. I had an Allied Seawind 30 ( I think only one of 2 Allied in the UK, the other is a 32). The long keel was fantastically stable and allowed, when balanced for the helm to be left for quite long periods. And in a blow was well able to tale the heel and waves. But not a marina boat. The thought of coming of the fingers at Fleetwood kept me awake at night.... However, when I switched to a swinging mooring at Holyhead I became sold on the long keel. I now have a small fin (Jaguar 21).Zero directional stability unless the helm is firmly gripped. But, as you say , horses for courses. I didn't stay the full course to see if you looked at Bilge keels. Soo useful for the drying harbours. But again a compromise.
Another great video! Thanks Tim - from a full keeler :-)
That was a great explanation . I havr a jet 14. And its got a deep narrow fin keel and want to roll over with every wind change but supper fast . My American Marine has a full displacement hull and full keel yes , heavy and a fright train ! But doesn't seem to notice bad weather .
Full keel also wants to round up quite a lot on a broad reach when the waves catch up to you. Trying to sail 135 degrees off true wind with an old aries windvane 10 years ago the boat would round up to 110 or so and then back down to 150+ making me slightly nervous since I had absolutely no intention of gybing at that time. A full keel is very comfortable close to beam reach in heavy seas as the base of the waves hit the keel first letting the hull "shoulder" into the wave which combined with some wind in the sails keeps the heelangle more or less constant way past the point where you can see the closest waves because of their height obscuring the next one. Edit: If I had to choose all over again I'd say this: for shorthanded cruising I want either the rig or keel to facilitate rebalancing the helm easily. Some old gaffrigged racingcutters facilitate this rebalancing with the centerboard they have in addition to their shallower full keel while some older rigtypes that are very unusual these days rebalance all on their own (luggers, search for "adventures of ocean pearl"). These days you can obviously use powered winches to reef and trim sails every time you change course but I would prefer to not have to rely on such devices without working myself sweaty each time.
I love my fin keel on my Ericson!! My boat heels well and is very stable, smooth and is a dream. I draw 6 feet when fully loaded with my liveaboard load.
Very informative!!!!
I love my Catalina 30 standard rig, and standard fin configuration. It's a great upwind boat. Very well behaved, so easy to single hand. I've seen about 7.3 knots upwind, 11.3 down wind with the Genoa and main. I don't have a kite or pole of any sort. It's a constant focus situation dead downwind when 18+ knots. It loves a broad reach. Great explanation of different types of keels Tim. I believe my girl is around 5.25' draft, so not too bad for shoals
Everything loves a broad reach. I owned a 43 foot Catalina once. It had the shallow wing keel, which I did not like.
Thank you I learned a lot great video. Full keel for me
You mentioned 2 or 3 times the boat length for an Island Packet turn. This is true only if you leave it in forward as you turn. I recently attended a docking class with the Maryland School of Sailing and they use IP's. We learned to do standing turns in little more than the length of the boat with the aid of its prop walk. Love your videos! : )
My family owns a yacht (Midget 31) is a full keel and even continues into the rudder. I can agree that making manoeuvres is not easy but we always have tricks for that. We use during sailing the sails and when in a harbour (close to a little wall under the water) we put a line 3 places further and move that way. For the wind its beginning to move ok at 7 knots but is very nice at 10 knots.
This has convinced me that if I ever take up sailing I'll have the fullest keel to ever keel.
I was on the longkeel in the video , the yacht Puff for a inspection. The Island Packet was really nice & comfy with even a washing machine aboard. But also bit too expensive. Nice too see the picture in your vid.
Great video waving a hand from Maryland👋
vague content but thanks for your work and happy new year...
My Bayfield 36 (waterline) cutter had a full keel with a cut back entry. You had to anchor with a sail at the stern to keep her from putting her stern to the wind and bow on the chain.
I bought a project boat 19 feet on my way up from a dinghy with a lifting center board, so a lifting keel was not totally unfamiliar.
The advantage were great.
I could still get into small bays and anchorages, I could still beach the boat ⛵ in lighter winds I could lower only partially the keel.
I don't think it would work on big boats but anything up to around 22 feet , its worth mention and consideration.
You are forgetting the modified full keel. I've sailed on a number of boats with modified full keels and find them to be maneuverable and relatively quick.
Very helpful - Thx
luv your vids Tim
I see a negative review, I say to myself, "Ooh! They'll probably actually describe the product experience!" You did a very respectable job of just that.
Excellent program. I’ve owned and sailed three different types of boats around the Chesapeake. A 17’ d/s, a 1980 27’ Cherubini designed fin keel Hunter and finally a 1975 35’ Pearson full keel with a center board. Obviously they all sailed differently and I enjoyed them for their unique features. The Pearson was fast to windward with the c/b down and had a lot of room both on deck and below. The Hunter was solid and comfortable and only drew 4’. I rigged each of them to meet my needs. Enjoyed the buying process, sailing them (as long as there was some wind). Each had good yanmar diesel engines while the d/s had a 4hp mercury on an ez in mount.
The two largest were excellent for extended periods and equipped with complete galleys heads and births.
thanks for watching!
I remember being on a small fishing boat that had a retractable keel. The seas were rough and the small harbor was shallow. It worked but had constant repair issues.
Nice video. You might have omitted A couple of comments for novices who might be considering blue water sailing . 1) The weather is wrong....a lot. I Left Galveston, Tx for the Bahamas on a late may norther that was forecast to last 12-24 hours. Four days later in the middle of Gulf of Mexico the north wind was still blowing 25-30+kts sustained gusting 40+. Two days later the forecast was variable to 10 kts, we woke to 25 kts sustained now out of the east 🤦♂. 2) Prop placement relative to keel. Crab pots, long line fishermen and just junk in the water. I have had fishermen drop their lines right across my course off shore. You can dodge crab pots during the day but at night no way. An exposed prop can create a risk. 3) Bow thruster for the win on full keel port maneuvering 😎. 4) Regarding speed on a full keel: Code Zero or Asymmetrical For speed on a full keel. You can fly them much more often on a full keel and they are easy to use. You can also fly more sail longer. I am still full main and genoa(110%) at 20+. 5) Maybe not about the keel, buy a self tacking staysail is a God send in heavy weather.
Very good content.
When I was a teenager my uncle bought a 28' gulfweed ketch. One week end we went to Santa Catalina Island. About 2/3 the way there, the wind picked up as and started pushing some 12' to 15 ' swells which I thought was great. My uncle not so much. As soon as we came into the lee of the island the went down and we arrived at Forth of July Cove no worse for our small adventure.
Thank you
The main take-away should always be to get a keel type that suits your location, and the conditions you are likely to experience. A long keel sails fantastic in the Baltic sea, with its rough, irregular wave pattern, however you shouldn't take it to the Southern Ocean (see reports regarding the Golden Globe Race and the weakness of long keel boats in those conditions.)
A short keel will allow you some superb racing and fast cruising, however the course stability of a long keel can be a real benefit if sailing single handed, etc.
Also noteworthy: if you are sailing in tidal waters, a twin keel can be awesome. ;)
Wow thanks Sailor 👍
I like my tandem Bavaria keel thank you. Best of all worlds.
Curiously perhaps, the 1st non-centerboard boat I learned on in the Navy was a Columbia 25 back in 1968. It was a full keel. The first one I actually bought back in 1974 however was a Newport 27 with a fin keel. (I started on a Columbia 15 centerboard boat B4 I qualified on the 25.)
Bulbs and wing keels are nice in shallower water, but if you ground in a soft bottom you are SOL whence you can often "slice" through and wiggle free with a fin keel.
Im a pro captain and a full-time cruiser on a Pearson 365 ketch for 22 years. It is refreshing to see a sailing channel dealing in good solid factual information. Good data clearly explained. Thank you captain.
Nice, clear comparison of all the advantages and disadvantages, thanks. I'd be interested to hear your opinion on bilge keels, especially for ocean crossings.
Bilge keels are rare. They are favored for the kind of English harbor where the boat is kept on a mooring and dries out at low tide.
I have done a few passages with bilge keel just short hops of between 250 and 500 NM of open ocean and it was as good as a single keel , points 25deg to the wind sailed happily with a rail under just well mannered. Been hit with 40 knt wind no drama . That was a 28ft boat
If I could pick I'd go with a modern take on a short modified full keel (structural integrity) or a long fin keel with skeg rudder (still good stability but better maneuverability).
hahaha! "don;t blame me, YOU clicked this". love it!
Don't forget, Australia's Ben Lexcon designed the famous winged keel of Australia 2 the boat that won the 1983 America's cup.
I was 33 years old in 1983. I had sailed my own boats on ocean crossings for 12 years in 1983.
@@timdunn2257 I sailed the Northwest Passage, 83 years ago, when I was 12. There was none of this internet nonsense, back then. Only the ocean, and fire for heat.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 Wow. You really envy those brave yachties of yore, don't you? How sad.
And we still haven't forgiven him...
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894: the St Roch?
If you want security while sailing, a full keel boat with the propeller in a rudder aperture is the only way to go. If you sail New England waters, there are lots of lobster pot warps and if you have a spade rudder, guess where the warps hang up.
Now, how do you get the warp out of the gap between hull and top of rudder after it has jammed in their solidly - and the weather is deteriorating? (Remember MURPHY is always looking for the best opportunity to play his games)
Propellers hanging out there are another place that finds every lobster pot warps.
Then there are fishing nets.....
I've seen the hole in the bottom of a Dufour 34, at a Connecticut Marina, after the fin keel hit a rock; tore off the keel; and the boat instantly sank.
If you are sailing along at night, and hit a barely floating container that washed overboard from a container ship. Would you rather slide up on the container with your full keel, - with no damage - or hit the container with the leading edge of your fin keel while doing 6 knots .... shear it off, .... and immediately sink....?
Says it all 👋👋
Full keel, sure if you want to discount several decades of engineering advancement and never go faster than 1kn. Oh yeah, throw in the fact that your maneuverability is less than non-existent. There's a big reason why marine engineering left full keels behind decades ago.
@@jkutyna I'm a long haul cruiser. I'll gladly sacrifice 0.5 knot of speed for the absolute security that the full keel affords. The sea hasn't changed, and I refuse to put up with the modifications that the racing boys want. A Vice President in my Company was an ocean racer - he had the latest new fin keel speed machine design built. As they were approaching the Irish coast, having crossed the Atlantic, their fin keel broke off - bending stresses - leaving a huge hole in the hull. The boat instantly turned over - mast down - his crew climbed on the overturned hull and called the Irish Coast Guard. Nobody was hurt; they were towed into the harbor, but the boat was scrap. No thanks! I prefer hundreds of year of development of successful ship types to the current hot design fashion of today. With all oceans littered with semi-floating containers that went overboard from container ships, I don't want to have to worry about loosing a keel in the middle of the Atlantic, if I happen to hit one.
@@jkutyna Don't stop learning tomorrow you will know it all an maybe even have some dates fixed 🙂
@@conbertbenneck49 You are giving away more than 0.5 knots speed compared to the extreme racing fin keel that sometimes break off... Racing boats need to be sailed by competent and considered crew to be safe, that is a fact of life, if you push too hard, or don't know how to maintain it, you break the boat! OTOH, with small losses in performance you can design with generous safety factors a fin keel and it will work fine and be way safer than a full keel as the boat will be as sturdy but more manoeuvrable and able to sail to windward in bad weather including in short seas.
...for me...an encapsulated modified (long) fin with a skeg hung rudder.
I’ve got a Cape George 45, big heavy full keel boat, and I’m not sure it is slower than a fin keel alternative. 30 knots wind and I can have all canvas up and she still seems safe, and very fast because the ballast allows for all that canvas. I will say she turns about as well as a train, though. Also going astern happens without any expectation of directional control.
the final advise about "if you are worried about it get the island packet" is sound advise just like when you suggest to the person who is afraid of getting in an accident "ok just get the big suv and you will be safer"
I have a Ted Hood designed Paceship Westwind. It's one of his designs with the "delta form hull" (aka whale belly). It's a deep V hull with a rounded bottom. Lots of internal ballast down low, and a swing centreboard.
Don’t forget the modified fin with centerboard like our Bristol 38.8. 4.5’ board up, 10.5 ‘ down
I have an atkins thistle and find her great, comfortable and secure. Any sailboat will get to hull speed in 15 knots of wind. In lighter conditions a fin keel may be slightly faster but the difference is not worth shouting about. Storm in a teacup! The big difference lies in manuevering in harbour, mine is a dog in this situation but a gem at sea. Mine has much less leeway than most fin keeled yachts.
Hey Now! I only clicked this cause I like your Videos!
I like your sense of humour 🤣
Crap. "Bathtub full of Volkswagens." I just shot tea out my nose thanks to that!
On topic, I had a small boat with a swing keep but never felt comfortable with it. I now have a slightly larger Tanzer 26 with a full keel and I've hit the sweet spot for the area I sail in - the lower St. John River valley in New Brunswick, Canada.
Here in the UK, I tried a number of different keel formats, one of the best for fast cruising and reasonably shallow draft, for me, turned out to be a wing keel. It had lots of lift, remained stable and felt safe at anchor if caught in a late night squall with only a skeleton watch on deck!
What would be your strategy if grounded on a falling tide...stand upright or try to get her to lay over?
My "In my Head", Sailboat
Has retractable keel and airplane wing type setup.
Like collase drinking cups.
And wind turbine on top main mast, I think a turbine could be used as a sail while making power and directly driving a prop.
$0.02
Coworker was sailing a boat of unknown size from SF to San Diego, a route they had sailed numerous times. Rogue wave rolled them and they capsized, they didn't see it coming. Wife was lost, but he was rescued after a few days. I assume a robust keel would help against waves coming abeam - to a certain point.
For the reasons you said, the full keel is very safe for ocean crossing... but i think they have a flaw for most coastal cruisers I never hear commented on. A full keel is difficult to turn forward and backwards thats understood. Most people dont cross oceans but coastal cruise and will cross many more bars than ocean storms. It is much easier to keep a modified keel boat straight when crossing a bar and being pushed from stern by a wave, than full keel that will broach more easily... and usually pushed into rocks. If most sailing is coastal and crossing a bar every few days, I think the crossover is preferable/safer. You can almost always find shelter when coastal from big storms. As always, it depends on your sailing.
I had a 1970s bilge keel yacht which was great for drying out in small Cornish harbours. But it was useless to windward.
I have strong feelings on which keel is best for cruisers. I'd go for a modified encapsulated fin keel with shoal draft. I intend to go into shallow water where I can get good protection and I will probably run aground. The encapsulated keel of my 28' S2 (3'10" draft) was great as I never worried about keel failure. Integrated over time, a shoal draft keel is much safer than a deep draft keel as it allows you to get to safe harbors that a deep draft keel cannot go. I dont worry about ability to point into the wind as I normally want to only do downwind cruising. Long distance cruising to windward sucks. If I have to go to windward, I use the engine with a sail to prevent rolling.
A very interesting option might be bilge keels as they are meant for shallow water. If I built another boat she'd have bilge keels.
Good information, a drop keel would have been a good addition to review.
They're expensive and may not function when desired to raise or lower. If they raise a long way, being up may make the boat unstable when a gust hits.
Thanks
How about the best Wednesday night racing boats? I've sailed on both fins and full keel boats, you're so right about compromises. The full keel loves sailing in strong winds and big waves but can't move in light stuff while the fins go like a rabbit close to the wind and can still get along in slight puffs. Decide what you like to do most often, and pick accordingly.
Your stereotype is misleading.