Bilge suitable for regular drying out

[philproctor]

Hi, im looking at boats 26 foot or maybe slightly bigger. It's for a harbour tidal mooring so dries put. Naturally im looking at bilge keel
Are there any boats particularly suitable or which I should avoid. I've read stories some are not to strong ans regular drying out can lead to stress on keel bolts. Types im looking at include westerley centaur, pegasus 800, hunter horizon ...

 

[Boathook]

Cats normally are good with drying harbours.

 

[wallacebob]

See what’s popular in your harbour, and ask the question. Westerly keels of a certain era cause concern, but it all depends on the mud/bottom. No boat likes banging on hard sand/shell, most twin keels prefer soft mud. Westerly keels got stuck. The real popularity was supposed to be for shallow draft, not drying. Avoid encapsulated keels, as these need “shoes”.

 

[Refueler]

The old matter of Westerly Keels was a matter of the 'splayed angle' they had and the limited re-inforcement internally. The keels would be forced apart as boat sat on its keels .. the internal structure would flex.
Remedy was to add GRP Tows / Resin to increase the structure. Once done - the boat is fine.

I read various posts over the years about bilge keels and really near all are more than capable of drying out year after year ... I have yet to see any BK boat other than a stressed Westerly that was lifted to have the extra GRP work done - have any problem.

 

[Stemar]

What's the bottom of the harbour? In a lot of places in Portsmouth Harbour, it's a deep gloopy mud that fin keels just sink into happily. Otherwise, there's any number of twin keel boats that would be fine.

Centaurs have a reputation for keel problems, but once reinforced, they're fine, and AIUI, much better sailers than their rather staid reputation suggests. One I'd definitely look at if the budget will stretch to it is the Konsort.

 

[MoodySabre]

Snapdragons were built for the job but you pay with poor upwind performance. Leeway takes on a whole new dimension!
My son has a boat in Saundersfoot drying harbour where there is a Moody 31 bilgekeeler. Dries to firm sand. The advantage of a harbour can be that they don’t dry out with a big swell causing high impact on the keels.

 

[Stemar]

We had a Snapdragon 24 for years, and it served us well. They're tough and seaworthy, and very roomy for their size, and a bigger one could suit the OP well. No, they don't go to windward well, but that's what the engine's for. Off the wind, though, they can surprise bigger yachts. Just treat her as a motorsailer.

 

[ProDave]

Since Hunter was mentioned I recommend them as I sail a Horizon 23. they have a reputation of being one of the better twin keel boats for sailing ability. If you find the Horizon 23 too small for your needs look at the Horizon 27 or larger.

 

[Refueler]

I have always had a liking for Colvic's ... just beware of some porly finished Home fittinf out.

Then we have Westerlys and Moodys ..... etc etc ..

I had a Snapdragon 23 triple keel .... sluggish - but that central keel stub - hang over from its fin / lifting keel sister ... helped her keep course ...

But there are so many different makes - it really comes down to bias when people advise which one ... and I suggest to anyone looking to buy - check out and agree with 'other half' which suits best ...

What I will say and I am ready with flak jacket ... stay away from the less sturdy twin keel boats such as the USA designed Hunters etc ... they are NOT designed for drying moorings - they are for occasional drying out ...

 

[seumask]

Hunter Horizon 26, Westerly Griffon, Westerly Konsort, Westerly Merlin all good bilge keelers in your size range that sail pretty well and take the ground well. less performance but been around a long time with 4000 built is the famous Westerly Centaur which were the model that had a few Keel splaying issues. I doubt you'd find one today that still has this problem.

 

[Refueler]

Hunter Horizon 26, Westerly Griffon, Westerly Konsort, Westerly Merlin all good bilge keelers in your size range that sail pretty well and take the ground well. less performance but been around a long time with 4000 built is the famous Westerly Centaur which were the model that had a few Keel splaying issues. I doubt you'd find one today that still has this problem.

As I ran a Survey Co in UK till my leaving for Baltic ... the Westerly problem was seen not only on the Centaur ...

I lived in Cowplain - just a couple of miles from Westerly Production in Waterlooville ... and knew many of the people there.

The 'remedy' was quite simple and just meant a lift out ... and glass up the bilge area with GRP Tows. It has to be remembered that the Centaur / Pageant range that developed into the larger models was in the early days and the stress of repeated drying out was based on mainly hard ground ... contrary to some info - the problem came about when the keels sank into heavy mud ... the compressive force on the mud now being forced up between the keels pushed the keels outward ....
Many other BK boats did not have the same large angle on keels as Westerly as well as not using the 'cats cradle' form of bilge strengthening that Westerly used.
But its a 1980 - 1990's issue ... and affected Pageants, Centaurs, Konsorts as well as early versions of others.

Strangely - the boats before the Pageant / Centaurs seemed to be unaffected ...

 

[Cerebus]

If mud is what the boat will sit on and not stones, shingle then I would look at boats with encapsulated keels.

They don’t fall off, rust…

One poster said they needed shoes but one of my boats was always in mud and the keels had no shoes and were in excellent condition for many years.