Bilge keeler will I regret it?

In a more ideal World I would like a bilge keeler as well as my present boat, just to get up all those creeks and chill out away from it all. a' la Dylan Winter, 'keep turning left'.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dylanwinter1#play/user/DCCD9E425AB79637/26/vcUVYNMxdIY p.s. take a real good look at the adverts on his site... some surprisingly good things to be seen.

But if you want reasonable performance with your cruising, do some in depth research first.

The Soveriegn 32 with bilge keels looks a very pretty boat from the topsides up, but on land she looks like she's had a legs chopped off.
If she had a long encapsulated keel she wouldn't look a million miles different to a Nicholson 32. Now theres a solid craft as long as it hasn't got the big'O'
 
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Very nice looking boat.


Another for the list... though the engine access looks a bit shocking!

I dream of engine access like that!

p.s. I love the 'adventure game' steps in the companion way.
 
I recently bought a bilge keeler for costal/occasional offshore cruising in mind.

very happy so far with the few occasions I got out into the bay. I have some rigging to replace so I havn't push things too hard yet.

It was my choice for all the advantages mentioned above. Reassuring too, knowning there isn't many situtations that a well targeted beach can't solve :o (espically when your short/single handed).

I've been in enough seakindly fin cruisers, motor sailing into wind, to conclude that pointing ability isn't going to be a showstopper. I recall reading somwhere that a cutter rig can help moreso than a large geneoa, so there's an oppurtunity for experimentation too.

For me, when it comes to cruising, I plan for 5knts. Sailing then becomes about getting 5kts. (Slapping is an indication of excessive heel).

Who knows, the next one might well be a fin. but it's definitely a bigle keel without regret for now.
 
It's a very mixed fleet and the results depend on the weather as much as anything. There's a couple of small Beneteaus that are giving me time, which is fair enough in light winds when they just sail away from me but give me a F4-5 or more and they haven't got a chance.

That's more or less what we see in our racing - in a decent blow the 29 keeps up with much faster boats. This series, courtesy of a gale almost every Sunday, he's doing really well. Mind you we have a First 31.7 that sails away from all of us even in bad weather, but luckily he's crucified by handicap.
 
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