Movable keel budget boats for sale- risky?

NickRobinson

NickRobinson

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I'm currently seeking an 8/10m bilge keel yacht sub £10k to replace Benita.
Boats with swing etc. keels pop up in my searches.
I've crewed on a well sorted Feeling in the past and the skipper loved it.
I'm aware of people posting online of stuck/noisy/leaky/rusty keels, Also keel boxes and elderly hard to rectify mechanisms.
I would be drying out fairly frequently. Am I right to avoid these?
 
I have a 10m lifting keel boat boat within your price range and I'm very fond of it as I like to take advantage of cheap moorings up rivers on the west coast of England.

The keel mechanism is very simple, it just goes up and down on a 12v winch via a 3 to 1 wire purchase and the whole mechanism is completely accessible.

However, I wouldn't dry it out as there is a bulb on the bottom and I wouldn't dry out any lifting keeler that wasn't specifically designed for it eg Parker with it's flat keel base.

I also wouldn't fancy a more elaborate keel mechanism eg Parker.

If regular drying out is your goal I would absolutely stick to bilge keels.
 
I currently sail a bilge keel boat and my previous boat was bilge keel. I would happily dry out on most flat places.

My first boat was a lifting keel boat. Mine was a type where the keel lifted up entirely into the keel box, leaving just the GRP hull. Great for sneaking into places without much water, or being the first out of the drying harbour on the rising tide. BUT I would not dry that one out on anything other than soft mud. Even a sandy beach, I would worry there was an isolated sharp rock or stone waiting to puncture my hull.

Of course there are lots and lots of different lifting keel boats. some where the keel lifts up into a stub keel might be better suited to drying out than the one i had.
 
ridgy said:
I have a 10m lifting keel boat boat within your price range and I'm very fond of it as I like to take advantage of cheap moorings up rivers on the west coast of England.

The keel mechanism is very simple, it just goes up and down on a 12v winch via a 3 to 1 wire purchase and the whole mechanism is completely accessible.

However, I wouldn't dry it out as there is a bulb on the bottom and I wouldn't dry out any lifting keeler that wasn't specifically designed for it eg Parker with it's flat keel base.

I also wouldn't fancy a more elaborate keel mechanism eg Parker.

If regular drying out is your goal I would absolutely stick to bilge keels.
Click to expand...
Useful and knowledgeable- Thanks
 
Last edited:
Just to add that there are many Parker lift keel yachts happily drying out on sand, mud and gravel. I’ve never had or heard of any mark on the fibreglass hull, or a stuck keel, as a result of drying out. The boat compresses what’s underneath to fit the hull shape. Of course, rocks are to be avoided but smaller stones definitely move out of the way under the pressure of the hull.

Also, the lifting mechanism on yachts up to 27 feet is very simple. No hydraulics. Those with 31+ feet long yachts with suitably maintained hydraulics are also ok.

I confess that I’m a bit biased, as you can see from my username 😀.
 
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