toe in and keel changes through Centaur production run

[dylanwinter]

I had that Centaur for fourteen years and I do not recall ever experiencing any problems of the windward keel coming too near the surface and sucking air. That would entail severe heeling with the leeward rail being well under water; a sure sign of reefing being well overdue.
Perhaps others had a different experience... or have a better memory than I.

When sailing to windward - which they do amazingley well by the way, you either have to reef, stuff the bow into wind during gusts or ease the mainsail when the wind comes on hard. There is no sailing a Centaur with the lee rail under water as you can do with a single keel.

D

 

[ghostlymoron]

I remember read a magazine article by Peter Poland I think about the development of bilge or twin keelers. The amount of rake and toe in was a closely guarded secret between the manufacturers (he was involved with Hunters) but actually they all came up with very similar figures - 2.5° if memory serves. There were a lot of advances in hydraulics during that period and the concept of lift on a keel was exploited. No doubt development continued and so a later boat should sail better than an earlier one.
Vertical twin keelers like the Seawych were designed the way they were for purely practical reasons like ease of release from the mould (it grieves me to say they were designed by a fellow civil engineer). They do sail surprisingly well considering.