keels ...

[Courtnadge1]

Hi,

This may sound a little obvious to most of you but I am a newbie and even with a few books I still have not found any good descriptions of the different types of keels.

Could somebody please give me a crash course in keel types.

Thanks in advance,
Pete.

 

[poter]

Re: keels & other bits

Hi,
As you are not yet decided on what type of yacht and the area in which you are going to sail can I recommend the following reference:

Complete sailing Manual.
By Steve Sleight.
ISBN 075130784 X

Its an excellent reference with lots of pics including discription of Keel types and all of the basic information that you will require to get started.

Good luck

poter

 

[Jeremy_W]

Poter's advice is good. Steve Sleight seems to have a monopoly of these general sailing manuals at the moment. In the meantime:-

Fin keel / long keel (traditional) - gives the best sailing performance, but if the tide goes out of your harbour you have either to lean the yacht against the the harbour wall or attach "legs" to either side of the yacht to stay upright. Great if you have a marina or deep water berth. (e.g. Hunter 701)

Bilge/Twin keels - you sacrifice some sailing performance for the ability of the yacht to dry out flat whenever a harbour dries. From about the mid-60's very popular with budget family cruisers. (e.g. Leisure 17, Sunstar 18)

Lifting keels of various types - sound like the ideal compromise until one gets stuck half way up half way down. Then it's a real sod to shift. (e.g. Skipper 17, Sailfish 18)

 

[Chris_Stannard]

I agree that a book may be helpful but here is a little of may practical experience.

A long keel, including the full length keel that you will see on classic boats, gives good directional stability but as a result the boat is slow to turn. The boat is also often difficult to handle when going astern.

A short fin keel is the norm for racing boats, and this is taken to extremes on some racers. This allows you to turn quickly but you do not get the directional stability so the boat can be difficult to steer down wind.

Most modern cruisers will have a compromise which is about one third the length of the boat. This tends to give a combination of good directional stability and good manouvring capbility.

The next question is how deep is your keel. My current boat has a draught of 1.9 metres, about 6 ft 3 ins. This can be a problem in that my previous boat had a draught of 1.5 metres and we now find that we cannot go to some places we used to visit. The draught of a boat can be reduced by various strategies, inculding putting a bulb on the bottom of the keel, putting wings on the keel (which tends to improve the downwind stability) or by using lead at the bottom of the keel. If you see a boat advertised with a shoal keel, this means that the draught of the boat has been reduced from the standard by this sort of strategy.
In my current boat for example there is a well and the keel is bolted on the bottom of that. The extra inertia of the weight being low down makes the boat more comfortable in a sea way but the price I pay is the extra draught.
Bilge keels mean that you can dry out if you chose the bottom carefully, but I know many owners who will not do so and merely regard it as a way of reducing the draght of the boat. My personal experience is that a bilge keeler is not as comforatble in a seaway as a standard keel and I would not personally chose one.
Lifting keels offer the chance of a much reduced draught but suffeer from two problems. The ballast is in the bottom of the boat and therefore relatively high tending to give a less comfortable motion in a seaway. The other problem is that when the keel is raised the boat can be unmanageable in side winds.

At the end ot the day it comes back to the kind of sailing you intend to do.

Chris Stannard

 

[Courtnadge1]

Re: keels & other bits

Hi,

Book on order, if anybody else is interested it is £20 from Amazon.co.uk.

Thanks for the advice.
Pete.

 

[Guest]

Carefully consider where, what and how ..

Before deciding on keel from postings etc. that you will have on your boat .... a) walk around your local yacht club / marinas and talk to people etc.
Generally you will find more Bilge Keelers in clubs than in marinas ... why ... because many will have to dry out when tide goes out.

Fin keelers generally don't like bilge keel boats, similarly bilge keelers many do not like fins !!!!

Honestly consider where you want to go with the boat, what type of sailing you want to do ... ask around other owners and then decide based on seeing / hearing what is around your chosen sailing area.

Example : I have a fin keeler in Baltic - no problem as tide is only 20 cms and I can go to most places without fear. In UK I have a bilge keeler and I enjoy many places that you cannot even contemplate with a fin job ..... as the tide is so excessive at 3-4 metres range ! leaving many dry at low water.

Life is always a compromise I'm afraid !!

 

[charles_reed]

Try C A Marchaj,

"Sailing Theory and Practice" ISBN 0 229 64253. Granada Publishing.

He'll clear up some of the misconceptions/oversimplifications posted here.

He even gives you all the math to go with it, so you can be exact and measure good and bad.