Shallow keel options.... what have I got???

[Markrandles]

I was looking to buy a bilge or lift keel yacht due to my shallow river mooring until a friend suggested a shallow fin keel boat. I have a mooring which does not dry out but is only about 3 1/2 to 4 ft deep on the very very low spring tides. I am now thinking about a fin keel boat with option of legs when we hit very low springs. Any suggestions on which boats might be suitable. I am looking between 27 and 29 ft.
I do like the look of the Trapper 500. Anyone had any experience with one of these with beaching legs? The only other boat I know which has a shallow keel is a Dufour 2800.
Regards.

 

[fireball]

Is the bottom hard or soft?
If it is soft then legs may not help you.
If it is hard but not flat then legs may break!

 

[Markrandles]

The ground is sandy, hard(ish) and quite flat. I think that the keel would sink into it slightly.

 

[William_H]

I have to appologise in anticipation my brain has some storms occasionally but what about ...
A cradle with 4 legs which are joined fore and aft and cross ways with (or without) a deepish channel up the middle for the keel to sit in. Make it all of heavy steel and fit floatation boxes or bags near the top so the whole lot floats mostly under water and attach it to the mooring.
Sail the boat into the cradle and attach boat to the mooring. Then pull the vertical legs up to attach to the deck taking a little of the weight and so pulling the keel bottom into the deep channel.
As the tide goes out the boat should be firmly attached to a very rigid cradle. Which could cope with sinking or not being level.

There is a device sold here (not often) which has a floating cradle for mobos in the 20 ft range. Where you sink the cradle down low. Drive the boat in then pump the water out of the cradle tanks to lift the boat clear of the water to prevent weed growth.

So brainstorms from one who has never used legs or had a mooring which dries out. olewill

 

[mormargh]

I sail regularly on a friends Trapper 500 and I reckon you get a lot of boat for your money. He has a bilge keel version and the performance is considerably better than most other marques I have been on. If you like them, look for one of the later ones (number 400 onwards) as they had the 501 interior which is better. Alternatively, there is a shallow fin Sadler 29 but much more expensive.

 

[neil_s]

With 3 - 4 feet of water at LWS, your fin keel will touch down, but bilges will stay afloat. All that will happen is a slight list. Why do you need legs?

Neil

 

[blackbeard]

In my entirely unbiased opinion (!), a shallow fin will not sail so well as a deep fin; and the shallow fin may be no better than bilge keels of the same draught (if the bilge keels are well designed it may even be less good).
And - predictions of tide height are approximate, in particular depth of water is affected by weather. So your 3 - 4 feet could be twofootsix if atmospheric pressure is a bit on the high side.
Mike (bilge keels owner)

 

[mikejames]

I have a 1.5m fin keel (Westerly GK24) and the river Hamble where I am has a soft mud bottom. At 0.6 metres height of tide the boat will go aground.
I got the mooring because the person at the club who allocates them thought I had a bilge keeler !
The tidal curve has a rapid fall and rise to and from low water and a flat high water round here.
All that means is that for one or two days every month on big springs there is an hour or so when I cannot move the boat. Very rarely this has coincided with me wanting to go sailing. When it does, I wait.
The mud keeps the bottom of the keel fairly weed free. Evidence seems to be that the bottom 0.3m of the keel is in the mud from the brown on the antifouling.

Then when I do go sailing, I know that leeway is not such an issue and can pull tight turns under engine.

 

[Searush]

What is the risk of waves at low water? A fully drying mooring can be better if there is ANY risk of waves as she will only bump for a small time as she lifts/settles. Your shallow water mooring could allow bumping for an hour or two on neaps.

My own mooring dried (soft mud) at about half tide when the level is dropping fastest. Seldom bumped for more than a few minutes, and then only in the worst of weathers.

 

[dedwards]

I think the gibsea 282 fin keels only draw 1.35m. Not sure about the older models (ie gibsea 84). I do know though that their lift keels go into a keel stub (rather than into the saloon) and the 84 lift keel draws 1m when lifted.