What's the fascination with long keels?

parsifal said:
Have none of the 'fin-keeler' supporters got a picture of what they think is an attractive yacht?

By the way, I used to think Halberg-Rassey's were good looking boats, and I quite fancied owning one, but then I saw one out of the water and was horrified to see it didn't have a 'proper' keel so I went right off them. :D
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My HR has a proper keel. mind you its a bit of a museum piece
 
You can do it the old proper way as in a long keel like the first photo.
Otherwise you do it the modern way as in the second photo.

Anything else is just an in between mismash and no good for anything. :D
 
"What's the fascination with long keels?" - We spent a long time looking for our current boat - "the" boat - set off and sail boat. It's only our second boat - but both have been bought with the heart not the head. We got onboard, felt right, fell in love and bought them - each time it seemed obviously the right thing to do. They both happened to be long keelers. The only boats in magazines I consider as porn - the ones that make me feel lustfully unfaithful to our current boat - are long keelers. Its not the keel that fascinates - but the boats that do, always seem to have them!
 
What about this:

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Is there a more attractive plastic boat?
 
Didn't the designer move on from a Co26 Folkboat copy to an encapsulated fin Co32, then to a bolt on fin Sadler32, before going off around the world in a Contest 43 fin?

Pretty boats yes, Co32 for sure has to be right up there.
 
We own a long keel steel Freya. We would be happy to own a long fin as well and maybe it would reverse better. Everyone has covered the pros and cons and i think it is to close to call. Our Freya sails well and was the 1960s racing boat of the era so is fairly different to a J S spray. That saying i would never touch a spray and think that it was J Slocum's skill rather then the design that made it a famous boat. Some long keels are a lot faster than others and you could say that about the long fins as well.
 
Vara said:
If long keels are so good, why doesn't anybody make them any more.

I loved sailing the Nic 32, stable, good in very strong weather, lovely motion but a nightmare in marinas, cramped and not particularly fast.

But things move on and now with a conservative fin and skeg I'm a happy bunny and wouldn't go back for all the tea....
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Marketing. They cost more to make. You can get a big volume boat with less materials or a long keel with less volume. Boats cost per kg....
 
I only know one fin keeled gaffer, HANSER, built by Arthur Holt for the Round Britain Race, beathed by ALICE'S MIRROR and restored and owned now by Fabian Bush. She goeth like the clappers but being of the narrow hull and very deep fin school she has all the accomodation of the average field drain.
 
>Well I don't want a stand up row, but you must have sailed some rubbish fin keeled boats. I know that there are lots about, but there are also some ges that won't broach and misbehave in the way you describe.

Jane and I sailed 12,000nm in our long keel boat and have also sailed 3,000nm chartering three times a year for over 20 years. All the charter boats were fin keelers: Benneteau, Jenneau and Dufour. We turned up to wind often and surfed often we never broached but we never used a spinnaker or were over canvassed downwind. As I mentioned earlier our boat was 38 feet with a 12 foot beam, if a strong gust came through she would heel 20 degrees, shrug and stand up again, we never got the rail in the water. My abiding memory of going upwind in AWB's was heeling and having the rail in even if reefed, there were never enough reefs in charter boats mainsails.
 
another thing about long keel yachts when going astern is that which ever way she goes "look as though you meant it"
 
>another thing about long keel yachts when going astern is that which ever way she goes "look as though you meant it"

Indeed. In fact the way to go straight is to blip the throttle. Also when leaving a marina stern fist tie a spring from a midships cleat to a cleat near the bows and run the engine at 1,200 rpm for three minutes, when you see water going over the rudder release the spring and you will go straight . It me ages to work those out.
 
Neil_Y said:
It's all about the challenge of parking
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Somewhere in the depths of this lot of postings, I've mentioned our bow thruster. It solves the problem of berthing being a challenge.

Many times, the fact that we have a heavy displacement hull that doesn't get blown about in a harbour or marina like a crisp packet on the surface of the water, has been in our favour too.

Apologies to those who've read all the postings, but the main things I now want in a boat are comfort and security in a real blow, so that I know I can cruise on most days in most conditions and still get pleasure from it and not terrify Mrs S.

There are some superb long fin cruisers that I'm aware of that fit this label as well as the long keelers, it just happens that my old tub fitted my budget at the time of purchase and was readily available in my yard with a proven track record.

I've cruised in good to average conditions in modern fin keeled awbs/caravans and been truly happy with my lot for weeks on end, but I've also cruised in similar boats and been extremely uncomfortable, when conditions get a bit windy and choppy and when most awbs should be tucked up in a marina.

Boats are all a compromise and we all pays our money and takes our choice from the myriad of those on offer.

If you'r out there looking to buy, take a real good look around and make sure it suits your needs and has a good reputation in all areas. Then it may be worth a buck or two at the end of your interest in it.
:)
 
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A long keel boat's progress astern under engine is quite predictable; given enough space (allow about four cables) enough wind (F3+) and enough time, she will infallibly point her stern into the wind.

Trouble is, modern marinas just are not big enough. ;)

(If you really want to have fun, take a long keeled heavy gaff cutter with a left had prop offset to port and try to berth port side to...)
 
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