Bilge Keel Yachts Blue water passage abilities?

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mikeheller

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Hello, I have little experience of bilge keelers but know all the 'horror stories'. Can anyone give me information on the blue water capabilities of bilge keelers, for example I know from experience that 'knock downs' in long keel cruisers are manageable, and they will 'roll' and right without any real doubts; but will a bilge keeler handle it? To be really specific, does anyone know from experience/reliable sources if a Macwester Wight MkII 32footer can be relied on to handle an Atlantic return passage? Sorry for the long winded question.
 
Not that particular make or type, but I've met people who have happily taken Bilgers across W to E. Its also true that some fins have a poor record of coming up quickly, or staying upside down. Many of which have done atlantic circuits.

I think the roll situation being fairly extreme can break rigs in many boats but if its that rough most yachts including bilge keelers are more stable the right way up so eventually they will pop up again assuming not too much water gets in. You can always help the situation by having a half inflated or fully inflated tender attached very securely to the deck.

It's a case of treating the boat more carefully when the going gets rough, and also on a long passage like that, thinking about how and where you stow heavy items, like tinned food and water/fuel supplies.

Or how about secureing a hammer action lifejacket to the mast head? somewhat tongue in cheek..but then again why not?
 
I dont know who has told you that knockdowns in long keel yachts are "manageable" but you can no more generalise about them than you can about bilge keelers or cats or fins.

Knockdowns usually occurr through a combination of energy transfer from waves and a tripping effect from a boats reluctance to move sideways. That sideways motion is nade easier by shallower keels which is why some dagger board multis are so stable. They slide sideways when hit. And it also helps a typical old shallow long keel up to a point. Plus the area of topsides matters greatly

But recovery from a knockdown is all about things life water tighness, righting moment and the angle of knockdown etc which this time can be helped by topsides. In this case bilge keels dont help since generally speaking their righting moment curve is less good than the equivalent mono keel.

One thing is clear - size matters safety wise. the bigger, the better.
 
Can\'t comment on the Macwester, but...

many different bilge keelers have safely made ocean passges.

eg Shane Acton's Caprice, Ballerinas, Leisure 17, Golden Hinds (many, many ocean crossings), Eventides, Cobras, Moodys, Westerlys......the list is too long to be anywhere near exhaustive.
 
Chay Blyth set off to race round the world in a 30 foot bilge keeler in 1968. Got as far as South Africa if I recall correctly. It was gear failure as opposed to anything to do with the bilge keels that stopped him.
 
Centaurs, Corribees, various lift keel and Bilge Keels have crossed the atlantic.

The Macwester Wight and its larger sister the Seaforth are designed for surviving through heavy weather .... IMHO they will take you through a lot more than a lot of more modern boats will ......

I actually don't like the comment "but know all the 'horror stories'" .......... most of which come from those who have little experience of bilge keelers .......

If Bilge Keelers were so bad - why so many and why do they cont. to be built ... and developed into later Twin Keel config. ??

Honest don't believe all you read / hear ....
 
Did the jester challenge take place ??? I'v seen nor heard any news coversge either local or national .

Cheers

terry
 
one good aspect of doing an atlantic crossing in a bilge keeler is the way the keels have a dampening effect, most people who have done this in keeler's and long or fin have reported that the motion was much better in a bilge keeler.
IMO I dont think I would worry to much about the lenght of time it would take to right it's self in a knock down just as long as she is self righting as there are many more veriables to take into account, such as tankage, stores, and all the other gear that you are going to have stowed down below and possibly on deck as well, all of which are going to have an effect upon the righting movment of the boat.

as other posts have stated boats like the golden hind, eventides, caprice's are all bilge keelers and will get you across even if it is a tad slower then the racing machines.

with regard to size bigger is by no means safer, if anything you may even be safer in a smaller vessel, as long as you can keep her watertight you are guarded by the "corked bottle effect" just remember what happend on the night of April 14th 1912.......she might not have been roled over but if she could have been kept water tight then approx 1500 souls would not have lost there lives
 
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