yachts keel

What are the pros and cons of different keels?

We all sail for different reasons, in different cruising grounds and use our yachts differently, so it makes sense that there is no one-size-fits-all keel design. At Sirius, however, we like to make the perfect yacht for each individual owner. One of the ways we serve our customers is our choice of keels – at least six different options for each model. It’s one of the ways we stand out – or should that be stand up?

We offer three styles of keel: fin, twin and lifting swing keel. All of our keels excel in many ways, but every design does have drawbacks – this is not unique to Sirius, but the keel affects the way you use the boat, so it’s important to choose the right one for you.

These are the keels we currently offer:

Standard Fin (310 DS, 35 DS, 40 DS) Performance Fin (310 DS, 35 DS, 40 DS) Medium Fin (310 DS, 35 DS, 40 DS) Shallow Fin (310 DS) Shallow Twin (310 DS, 35 DS, 40 DS) Performance Twin (35 DS, 40 DS) Lifting Swing Keel (310 DS, 35 DS, 40 DS)

Does the choice of keel compromise ocean capability?

For Sirius yachts, absolutely not. It’s important to realise that choosing one keel style over the other does not affect the yacht’s righting moment or compromise its ocean-going capabilities at all!

Whichever keel you choose, deep or shallow, twin or fin, they all have the same stability. This is achieved by putting more weight in the bulbs of the shallower keels as the shorter lever can be balanced with higher weight. Most of the blue water cruising and circumnavigations in Sirius Yachts have been made with twin-keel or reduced/shallow fin keel yachts.

Does keel choice affect performance?

As our shallow keels are heavier the weight dampens the yachts’ motion at sea, but as a downside, you have more weight to move with sails or engine. Once you’re moving there isn’t a difference but when tacking or gybing, or when not steered well, you will lose a bit in sailing performance. The shallower draught yachts also lose a few degrees to windward compared to their deeper keeled sisters, but they are still good all-round performers. Our customers with racing backgrounds always try to go for a keel as deep and light as their sailing area permits, either with a single or twin keel.

Pros and cons of fin keels

The standard keel on our yachts is a fin keel. Most sailing boats today use a fin keel because it gives a good all-round performance on all points of sail. By keeping the ballast lower it gives the most comfortable motion. The main downsides are that the draught (the depth of water required to stay afloat) is the greatest, and it’s very important to avoid running aground on a falling tide. Fin keel boats cannot dry out without additional support, either from a harbour wall or by fitting a pair of beaching legs. Some fin keel yachts are not built strongly enough to stand on their keels when out of the water, so they can’t dry out alongside a harbour wall and they need to be kept in a special cradle when stored ashore to avoid the risk of the hull deforming under its own weight. By contrast, all Sirius yachts can stand on their keels for any length of time with no problem at all.

We offer four types of fin keel. The standard fin is available on the 310 DS, 35 DS and 40 DS and is fully cast-iron. It offers the best value, good performance, and excellent responsiveness. It is the deepest of our fixed-keel options, so if you want less draught you may want to look at our other fin keels.

We also offer a performance fin keel for all our models. This uses a cast iron fin with a lead bulb at the tip (bottom). The structural strength of cast iron means the fin is the slimmest profile, but lead is denser than iron so the same volume of lead will weigh around 1.4 times more than cast iron, giving more righting moment. The heavier, softer lead down low has less volume in the bulb so achieves a slimmer profile with less drag and therefore better performance.

A lead bulb is also safer if it hits something. Lead can absorb 60% of the energy in flexing and deformation so that only 40% of the force will be transferred to the laminated structure of the keel reinforcement. A lead bulb is very forgiving and easy to reshape and will not start to rust where the coating is damaged. We can use less volume of lead than iron, and achieve better stability than a wholly cast-iron keel. We can also reduce the depth of the keel and retain excellent stability. However, lead is more expensive than cast iron and the bulb must be attached very securely to the iron fin, so this option does cost more.

If you want less draught, we also offer a medium fin. This reduces the draught of the 310 DS and 35 DS by around 40cm/1ft 4in and 55cm/1ft 9in on the 40 DS. Like the performance fin, it uses a cast iron fin with a lead bulb. To retain the keel’s grip in the water it has to have a longer chord (the distance from fore to aft). While this gives the boat better directional stability, it does make her a little less responsive and a little slower to manoeuvre.

On our 310 DS, we offer a shallow fin option – a special version for very shallow cruising grounds. This fin keel offers the least draught of any of our fixed keel options at 1.15m/3ft 9in and draws 10cm/4in less than the twin keel version. The keel has a significantly longer chord (2.24m/7ft 4in compared to 0.7m/2ft 3in of the standard keel) so she has the reassuring directional stability of a long-keeled yacht but with better manoeuvrability.

Pros and cons of twin keels

Our twin keels are the most popular option. About 70-80% of all Sirius Yachts are delivered with them – and on the 40 DS it’s 90%. Some folk still believe there is a big performance penalty with twin keels. In the past this used to be true but it’s no longer the case with modern twin keel designs, from Sirius at least. We have conducted many two-boat comparison tests, often battling for hours, by ourselves, with owners, and for sailing magazines and we have found that there may only be one or two boat lengths of difference at the end of a long windward leg, if at all. At the end of many of these comparison tests, the crews could not point out which of the boats had the twin keel.

If you cruise tidal areas, twin keels will reward you time and time again. Not only do they give you a shallower draught than the typical fin keel, they also give you the ability to dry the yacht out, whether that’s for a motion-free night’s sleep, to explore cruising grounds others cannot reach, or just for cheaper mooring and maintenance costs.

We offer two styles of twin keels; performance and shallow draught. Both options have a cast iron fin with a lead bulb. The performance keels have a deeper draught and a thinner chord so they act and feel a bit livelier when sailing and manoeuvring. The shorter keels have a longer chord, but give you the ability to navigate shallower areas. Like all keel designs, twin keels do have some downsides. They are more expensive than fin keels, and when you’re sailing fast in choppy seas at a steep angle of heel, you can occasionally get a slapping sound when an air pocket is caught and pressed out under the windward fin. Lastly, we’ve yet to meet an owner who enjoys antifouling between the keels. Thankfully it only has to be done once a year and with twin keels you might get away with doing it less frequently. A twin keel yacht can be kept on a drying mooring, where fouling is reduced because the hull spends more time out of the water. And when you’re off cruising it’s easy to give the bottom a quick scrub while the yacht is dried out.

Our yachts will happily sit on their keels on a hard surface, like a drying grid, or for winter storage but on softer surfaces we use the rudder for additional support. The rudders on our twin keel yachts are specially reinforced for this: we use a Delrin sheave to take the weight of the hull and the tip of the rudder has a wide, foil-like foot to spread the weight.

A lifting swing keel

We are one of a few manufacturers to offer a lifting swing keel. There’s a lot of confusion with the term ‘lifting keel’, it seems to encompass all yachts that have centreboards, variable draught, lift-keels or swing keels. To us, a lifting keel boat should have all the ballasted weight of the boat in the keel, and that keel needs to be retracted into the hull.

Technically, a lifting keel is a keel that can be lifted or lowered and gives the boat the ability to dry out when the tide goes out. A lift-keel is a ballasted keel that raises and lowers vertically. A swing keel has a ballasted fin that has a single pivot point and the keel swings up into the boat. There are other variants of design, for example some have a lifting keel to reduce the draught of the vessel but they cannot dry out on it, others have a ballasted keel and ballasted grounding plate. All these examples have a keel that does two things: keep the boat upright and stop her sliding sideways. Our swing keel is designed with a NACA profile to give the most efficient performance.

Centreboard yachts have a centreplate to provide grip in the water and reduce leeway. The plate may carry only 15-20% of the ballast but the rest of the yacht’s ballast is within the hull and/or in the grounding plate. This is called an “integral keel” and is more common as it’s less complicated to build. The lower a yacht’s ballast is located, the better her stability, the more comfortable her motion and the better she stands up to her sail area. The most efficient place for the ballast is as low down on the deepest keel possible – this is why race boats have deep skinny keels with large torpedo-shaped bulbs on the bottom, but they don’t make practical cruising sailboats.

Our keel designs have more weight in the tip (bottom) – using a bulb on the fin and twin keel design and flaring the lower sections on our lifting swing keel yachts. You don’t have this with centreboard and integral keel yachts.

It might be surprising, but a lot of owners come to us thinking that a lifting swing keel is the best option for them. Sometimes it is, but about 98% of customers who approach us because we offer swing keels end up sailing away on a twin-keel Sirius.

The downsides of a lifting keel

A lifting swing keel does give you more cruising options. It will lift should you run into something and, of course, it gives you the shallowest draught. But that difference is only 40-50cm (1ft 4in to 1ft 8in) less draught than our shallow twin keel option. The lifting keel increases the complexity of the build and the final cost of the yacht; it also sometimes limits the internal layout and engine drive options, and you need to have twin rudders too. Twin rudders make the boat less manoeuvrable in a marina – you can opt for a third central rudder which does improve the handling, but again comes at an extra cost.

On the lifting swing keel, 40 and 310 owners are restricted to the use of a shaft drive, which is less efficient and you have to accept a bit more noise and vibration. When drying out, the drive is more vulnerable to damage, whereas it’s totally clear when taking the ground on twin keels. With twin keels, you also do not have to worry about something sticking out of the beach or stones lying around because the hull is high above the ground. With the hull up high, you do not have to dig a hole in the sand and slide down on your stomach to check or change your anodes as you would on a swing keel.

Sailors who are attracted to the idea of a lifting swing keel should carefully consider the pros and cons to compromise the least. When owners understand the repercussions of choosing a lifting keel yacht, many of them feel it restricts their options too much. They could have a lifting keel or they can sail with twin keels, dry out, have better close-quarters handling and save money in the process. Unless you need the shallowest possible draught – 0.75m (2ft 5in) on the 310 DS, 0.9m (2ft 11in) on the 35 DS or 0.95m (3ft 1in) on the 40 DS – a twin keel might well be a better option.

How are the keels attached?

The design of the keel is important but the way they are attached is just as important, if not more so. All of our fixed keels are through-bolted. Every keel has a wide flange at the root (top) of the keel and the flange sits into a reinforced recess in the hull. The flange and the recess work together to spread the loads of the keel/s into the yacht’s hull. The keels are bonded and bolted to the hull. We use up to twelve 20mm and 24mm bolts (per keel) and these go through rolled stainless steel backing plates inside the hull to spread the bolt loads evenly into the fully laminated keel grid which goes all the way up to the chainplates and also carries the mast support.

For our lifting swing keel, we laminate a substantial keel box as part of the hull to accept the keel and the hydraulic mechanism needed to retract the keel into the hull. Unlike most other boatbuilders we don’t use a grounding plate to take the weight of the yacht, our yachts sit on the length of the leading edge of the keel. Integral keels with the majority of the ballast in the grounding plates move the ballast (weight) from low down in the keel to inside the hull. This negatively affects the stability as the more weight you have lower down, the better.

We also don’t like grounding plates because they bring the hull in contact with the ground. By leaving 10-15 cm (4-6in) of the keel out of the hull when it’s retracted, most of the time the hull is kept clear of the beach and anything that could damage it.

The problem with too much form stability

With only 15-12% of their ballast in the centreboard, most lifting-keel yachts cannot rely on keel weight for stability so their hulls need to be designed with extra form stability instead. This means the hull sections have to be much wider and flatter. A flat-bottomed hull is not what you want for a comfortable ocean cruising yacht; it isn’t sea-kindly or easy to steer in waves and gusty winds conditions. We don’t make that compromise at Sirius. With all the ballast in the swinging part of our swing keel design, we can use the same seaworthy, ocean-capable hull shape designed for our yachts with fixed keels.

If you don’t know which keel would be best for your Sirius, contact us to discuss the type of sailing you intend to do, where you want to sail and what your cruising aspirations are.

General Manager – Torsten Schmidt SIRIUS-WERFT GmbH Ascheberger Straße 68 24306 Plön/Holstein

Fax: 0049 – 4522 – 744 61-29

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What is a Boat Keel? & What Does It Do? – Detailed Explanation

Written by J. Harvey / Fact checked by S. Numbers

Knowing the different parts of a boat is important for any mariner. If you look at your vessel exterior, one of the things that’s noticeable is the keel. But what is a boat keel and what does it do?

The keel is a horizontal structure at the bottom section of the hull, which acts as the boat’s main support. We’ll cover keel definition boat use and other relevant information.

Keep reading to learn more.

Table of Contents

The Boat Keel and What It Does

6. centerboard and swing, frequently asked questions.

The keel of a boat is a beam that acts as structural support for the hull and entire vessel. It has many types, and varying designs lead to differences in appearance, with some being longer and extending deeper into the water.

However, serving as support for the hull is not the only purpose of a keel on a boat. It also counterbalances a vessel, which helps to keep it in place and not be displaced by external factors. It is also partially responsible for moving a boat forward and aids steering.

The keel of a ship functions similarly to the keel on boat, serving as the backbone and ballast. It is often the first thing to be constructed on a ship.

Types of Keels

This type usually covers the entire length of the vessel and is one of the most common types used. This keel offers a high degree of safety, owing to its very stable performance along with the ability to run through sand without breaking off.

This is similar to the full keel but shorter, running less than 50% of the length of a vessel. This difference allows it to contribute to a boat’s ability to turn while also giving improvements to its speed. This type is commonly found in racing models.

This keel boat part is similar to the fin, except for the bulb attachment at the bottom, which resembles a torpedo.

The shape of the bulb also makes it less likely to be damaged by contact with rocks, and this type is excellent for cruising.

This design extends the length of the keel, making it similar in appearance to an airplane wing. This design allows a vessel to turn and maneuver more easily, but it is more susceptible to breaking or digging into the ground.

Instead of just one at the center, the bilge keel has one for each side of the hull. A vessel with this type of keel has less roll, which gives better comfort on the water. It also has a lower draft and allows easier anchoring on shallow waters.

These are two different types of keels but are grouped because of their similarities in design. These can adjust their length, making them usable for both deep and shallow water. However, centerboards only partially retract, while swing types have their entire length fully adjustable.

These have the advantage of adjustability but less performance, and they also have more components that require checking compared to fixed keels.

This is similar to the swing keel in that its entire length is connected to a hinge at the bottom of a sailboat but adjusts from side to side, starboard to port, and vice versa.

It can boost speed and maneuverability by wetted surface reduction and weight shifting. This is often used for racing vessels but is still considered experimental as there is a high rate of failure due to its reliance on hydraulics.

Hull and keel: what is the difference?

The keel hull confusion likely stems from the fact that the keel is often part of the hull. However, they are two entirely different things, since the hull is the main body of the boat while the keel is a beam that is connected to the bottom of the hull and may extend farther down from it.

Do all boats have a keel?

Most boats do, but not all boats, as flat-bottomed ones are the exception. The keel boat Lewis and Clark Expedition used in 1803 is a well-known example. This was a barge, a type of flat-bottom vessel that was a boat without a keel.

How is the keel of the boat different from the keel at the bottom of a ship?

Both ships and boats have keels that function in similar ways, but how they are constructed and even the keel shape are different. While most types of sailboat keel are fin-like in appearance, a keel ship needs to be much wider to be able to support the entire ship’s size.

Knowing what is a boat keel is a very important matter that you should no longer have trouble with. Now, you can move on to learning other major parts of vessels. Just remember to consider the draft and use a boat keel guard to safeguard your vessel.

Which type of keel is best in your opinion? Tell us all about it in the comments section below. We’ll be waiting to hear from you.

Remember to boat safely.

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• Mastering the Depths: The Sailboat Keel Guide

The keel of a sailboat is more than just an architectural feature; it's the foundational element that ensures stability, performance, and the directional integrity of the vessel. Acting as the backbone of the boat, it runs longitudinally along the bottom, playing a crucial role in preventing the boat from being blown sideways by the wind. But the keel is not just about stability; it's intricately linked to how a sailboat interacts with the water and wind, affecting everything from speed to maneuverability. Diving deeper into the specifics, the variety in keel designs is vast, each tailored to suit different sailing needs and environments. From the slender and deep fin keel, known for its speed and agility, to the bulb keel with its characteristic bulb at the bottom for enhanced stability, the design choices are many. There's also the wing keel, designed for shallow waters, reducing the draft without losing stability, and the full keel, which is excellent for long-distance cruising due to its exceptional directional stability. Not to forget the twin keel, which allows a sailboat to stand upright on low tides and offers remarkable stability in heavy weather conditions.

The Balancing Act: Keel Types and Sailboat Performance

The keel's influence on a sailboat's performance cannot be overstated. It's a balancing act, quite literally, where the keel's design directly impacts the boat's stability, speed, and maneuverability. The choice between a deep keel and a shallow keel, for instance, is a decision that touches upon the very nature of one's sailing. Deep keels excel in open waters, offering unmatched upwind performance, while shallow keels are better suited for navigating coastal areas and shallower bodies of water.

But how does one choose the right keel? It's a combination of understanding the specific sailing environment, the performance expectations, and personal sailing style. Whether it’s for competitive racing or leisurely cruising, the keel must align with the sailor's aspirations and the challenges of the waters they intend to navigate.

Navigating Choices: Selecting the Right Keel and Ensuring Its Care

Selecting the right keel for your sailboat involves a detailed analysis of various factors, including the type of sailing you're interested in and the conditions you expect to face. Each keel type brings its own set of advantages and challenges. The maintenance and care for sailboat keels are equally important. Regular checks, cleaning, and upkeep are essential practices that extend the longevity and preserve the performance of the keel, preventing long-term issues that could hamper your sailing experience.

Read our top notch articles on topics such as sailing, sailing tips and destinations in our Magazine .

Check out our latest sailing content:

The Voyage of Evolution: From Simple Structures to Sophisticated Designs

The history of sailboat keels is a fascinating journey of evolution, showcasing human ingenuity and the relentless pursuit of better, more efficient designs. This evolution is not just about improving performance but also about adapting to the changing environmental conditions and the growing demands of the sailing community. Innovations in sailboat keel designs continue to emerge, driven by a desire to enhance efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and push the boundaries of what's possible on the water.

Charting the Future: Innovations and Trends in Sailboat Keel Design

The future of sailboat keel design is as promising as it is exciting, with new advancements focusing on optimizing performance, eco-friendliness, and adaptability to diverse sailing conditions. These innovations are not just about pushing the limits of speed and agility but also about ensuring that sailing remains a sustainable and accessible sport for generations to come.

The keel is a testament to the intricate dance between form and function, a crucial component that defines a sailboat's relationship with the sea. Understanding the various types of keels, their functions, and how they impact sailboat performance is essential for every sailor. As we look to the horizon, the continuous innovation in keel design promises a future where sailing is not only about embracing the wind and waves but doing so with an eye towards efficiency, sustainability, and harmony with the marine environment.

So what are you waiting for? Take a look at our range of charter boats and head to some of our favourite  sailing destinations.

I am ready to help you with booking a boat for your dream vacation. Contact me.

Denisa Nguyenová

Sailboat Keel Types: A Complete Guide

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

June 15, 2022

A keel is a very important part of a sailboat, crucial to its stability and ability to sail upwind. This article will discuss the fundamentals of all keels down to the details of the best keel for your boat. We will answer questions including what it does, what it's made of, and even some problems that a keel can cause. By the end of this article, you will be an expert on all things keels!

Table of contents

What Is a Keel?

A keel is the robust underwater centerline of a boat, and often extends into a long, hydrodynamically shaped blade.. It can vary in size and shape depending on the make and model of the boat. But, generally, it will look very much like a fin. If you imagine the fin on the underside of a surfboard you will have a pretty good idea of what it looks like under the boat.

It is crucial to helping with steering and control. The word keel itself comes from Norse and Dutch roots. The word simply means a structural component of the boat. You may have heard the term keel-haul, where pirates would drag someone underneath the boat across its keel. This is pretty barbaric, but it shows just how long a keel has been an important part of the boat. From Vikings to pirates to modern sailboats it has always remained an important part of a sailboat.

What is a keel made of?

A keel will typically be made of whatever the rest of the hull is made of. If the boat is wooden, it will most likely have a wooden keel. If the boat is metal, the keel will be metal, and so on. Sometimes, particularly on fiberglass boats, the core of a keel will be reinforced with lead or a similar ballast while the outside is covered with fiberglass.

The keel needs to be strong enough to withstand a lot of pressure and strain. Traditionally Viking sailing boats would have a wooden keel with some metal plating on it. Casting metal was tedious so putting it on your boat was seen as a waste. Traditional wooden sailing boats, like you would imagine pirates sailing, would also have a wooden keel. It would be made from thick hardwood like oak and could also be metal plated.

Since it is used to control the direction it must brunt the force of the change of direction. If you imagine a boat turning sharply, there will be a lot of pressure on the side that is on the outside of the turn. The hull of your boat will stand up to this pressure easily, as it is very large and very strong. The keel must be strong enough to withstand this too. The keel also can drag on the ocean floor or the boat ramp as the boat is lowered into the water. For this reason, it needs to be strong enough to hold up to the weight and pressure of the boat too. If it were made of plastic it would break every time you brought the boat in and out of the water.

What does a keel do?

The keel is there primarily for stability and guidance. The keel provides all sorts of benefits to the boat. It improves the righting moment and controls the boat’s sideways movement. The keel will also typically hold the boat’s ballast. The ballast keeps the boat weighed down and helps prevent capsizing. The ballast is typically made of lead, sand, or water.

Keels can be fixed or moveable. Some keels can be removed completely or may just retract slightly so they aren’t damaged when the boat enters or exits the water. When a boat leans to one side, because it is turning or there is strong wind/waves, the keel provides the righting moment that keeps the boat from flipping. On larger boats, it is designed to be so heavy that ig will be able to recover a boat from almost any angle of heel. Without a keel, your boat may tip too far or roll completely. On bigger ships, this can be disastrous. In its ability to prevent this alone, the keel is one of the most important parts of the ship.

Does my sailboat need a keel?

Yes, you do need a keel. Pretty much all sailboats have a keel, with exceptions for multi-hulled and/or smaller boats.  

In the case of catamarans, the very design principles that lead to the dual-hull design render the keel obsolete. The stability introduced by the outrigged, dual-hulls replaces the necessary righting moment from the keel. Because almost all the structure of a catamaran is between the two hulls, unlike a monohull which builds out from and around its centerline, there is not a lot of weight pressing out to flip the boat. Related to this, since most catamarans have the length of their hulls pressing into the water, the steering force normally placed on a keel is distributed across the length of the two hulls, which additionally will carry their own ballast.

On smaller dinghies, a small swinging centerboard or daggerboard will suffice to play the role of a keel. The centerboards can be big enough to keep the boat flowing nicely through the water without the need for a large keel. Additionally, it is not a disaster for a small sailing or racing dinghy to capsize, as they are designed to do so and recover rather easily, so the ballast from the keel is also not terribly necessary. 

If you have a motorboat you wouldn’t need a keel, unless it is a very large container ship or military vessel. The reason being that they are outboard propelled. The leg provides enough stability on its own. This is only the case with full plane powerboats. Displacement (even semi-displacement) craft will still need a keel of sorts for stability purposes.

What are some downsides to having a longer keel?

If you have a long keel that doesn’t retract or detach, you may have some problems coming in or out of the water. The keel extends far below the bottom of the boat, so if you are bringing your boat up or down a boat ramp you may find that it scrapes on the bottom. If you are not careful, you may damage the keel rather badly.

Since the keel is made of metal, wood, or fiberglass it can bear the brunt of the weight quite well. If you are putting your boat in the water and cannot retract the keel, it is a good idea to go as far into the water as possible before taking your boat off its trailer. The deeper you are in the water when the boat is released the better.

Are there any nautical traditions about the keel of the boat?

The keel is interestingly very important when it comes to boat or shipbuilding.

Traditionally, the keel is one of the first parts of the ship to be made, as the rest of the ship must sometimes be built around it. This tradition is called “laying the keel,” and is a momentous occasion. It is essentially the boat’s birthday. The boat’s age is dated from this moment, and there is also typically a celebration of sorts. This goes back to the days of seafaring exploration. The only day more important in a boat’s life is the day it is finally launched.

Can other types of boats have keels?

Yes! Many other types of boats have keels, not just sailboats. A good example would be a big shipping trawler. These trawlers are very large and need all the help they can get to stay balanced. Because of this, they often have what’s called a bar keel. This is a large rectangular piece of metal that runs along the bottom of the boat’s hull. It is very thick and heavy. The idea is that it gives the boat some more directional control when steering.

Furthermore, it helps keep the trawler balanced when out at sea in rough conditions. The extra weight keeps the boat’s center of gravity as low as possible. This makes tipping the boat almost impossible. It does slow it down a bit, but that is a small price to pay for increased safety.

Huge cargo ships also have a keel, though it is different from a bar. Their keel is known as a plate keel. It is essentially another layer of the boat under the hull. Its only purpose is added weight and protection. A plate keel runs along the centreline of the bottom plate of the ship so the weight is all concentrated in the lowest place possible. This kind of keel works similarly to how the spine of a person does. It keeps your back strong and as straight as possible.

How important is it to keep my keel clean?

It is very important to keep your keel clean, just as it is important to keep the rest of your hull clean.

For any boat kept on the water rather than hauled out every day, there is always the need to clean the hulls and keels of any barnacles and other sea growth. Barnacles not only affect your performance, but can, in the long run, greatly increase your maintenance costs if not regularly addressed. 

To do so, you have to do what is known as scraping. Scraping is the process of physically scraping off all the barnacles and other sea life that has attached itself to the underside of your boat. Many marinas offer this service, but you can do it on your own with a basic plastic paint scraper and a wetsuit. When you do this, it is key to get all the way down to the bottom of the keel and all across the hull. If you don’t scrape it off, it can start to erode your boat away over time. It can also slow you down.The barnacles and other marine life create a very rough bottom. This creates more friction and will reduce your speed more and more the worse it gets. 

It is important to check with your port authority before you start scraping. Scraping is not allowed in some places as you may introduce invasive species to the area. It depends where you have been more than where you are. If you sailed from New York to Chicago, you will be fine. If you sailed from Cuba to New York, probably not so much.

How to maintain a sailboat keel

As mentioned above, it is important to scrape your keel from time to time. While racing boats will actually do this before every day at an event, it is at least a good idea for you to do this a couple of times a season. A great time to do this is when you plan on applying that season’s bottom paint, though anytime you plan to go on your boat is a good excuse to maintain!

You may want to cut off any of the kelp and seaweed that wraps itself around the keel. This is more likely to happen if you have a fin keel. If you do find that there is a lot of kelp and seaweed wrapped around it, you will want to buy yourself a kelp cutter. Unfortunately, the only way to cut the kelp off without taking the boat out of the water is to dive in and do it yourself. It is a good idea to do this in shallow-ish water with the proper flags displayed to inform other boaters that there is someone in the water. Swimming around under your boat, even when it isn’t moving, can be dangerous.

What do I do if my keel breaks at sea?

It is very rare for keels to just break off. It is even rarer at sea. After all, what is going to break it off? The only way a keel will break off ordinarily is if you run aground.

If you should accidentally make your way into shallow waters and break your keel off it is a good idea to set sail for home. You will manage well enough in the short term but will struggle over time. You are far more likely to capsize without the keel keeping you balanced.

If you have a detachable keel it is a good idea to keep a replacement. If one breaks off, you can just install the spare one. This isn’t the easiest thing to do at sea in rough conditions, but it is possible. Make a judgment call using your common sense whether it is worth the risk or not.

Another reason your keel might break or come loose is if the keel bolts come out. These bolts are what holds the keel in place. If you happen to have a keel held on by bolts, then doing proper maintenance is even more important. If the bolts come loose, the keel can come loose.

Since the keel is typically welded on to the boat’s hull the chances of it coming off completely are slim to none. Most often, running aground on a sandbar or anything short of an incredibly rocky bottom in heavy weather will crack off a piece or severely bend the keel, which requires a major repair. If you do notice that the keel is loose, you are better off taking it back to the marina. The bolts may not come off without using some machinery, meaning you might have to take your boat out of the water. If your keel starts to rust, you may need to speak to a professional.

What are the different keel types?

Now you know what a keel is, what it does, why it is important, and how to care for one it is time to learn about the specific types of keels. Big trawlers and cargo ships have bar or plate keels, but sailboats do not. Here are the 6 different types of keels typically found on sailboats and their purposes:

The full keel is one of the most common types of the keel that you are likely to see on a sailboat. A full keel runs from end to end of the boat lengthways. A full keel, as the name implies, runs almost the entire length of the boat. At a minimum, it must run 50% of the length of the boat. A full keel is one of the most stable keel types, which is why it is so common. Full keels are also safer should you run aground. If a boat with a full keel should come ashore, it will cut its way through the sand and eventually land on its side. Whether you are grounding your boat intentionally or not, your boat will have far better odds of surviving the ordeal with a full keel.

A fin keel is similar to a full keel, just shorter. There may be one or two fin keels along the length of the boat hull. A fin keel is defined by being less than 50% the length of the boat. The fin keel works almost entirely the same way that a shark's fin does. When you wish to turn, the keel provides the resistive force that keeps you turning. This means that it essentially acts as your tires going into a turn. Whereas a full keel is essentially just a long fin, a fin keel has very different benefits. A full keel is more stable and safer overall. A fin keel is sleeker, smaller, and most importantly makes you faster. Most racing sailboats have fin keels.

A bulbed keel is very similar to a fin keel. In fact, it is possible to make a bulb keel by shaving off part of a fin keel and attaching a bulb. Once the keel has been made substantially shorter, the bulb is fitted. The bulb is shaped similarly to how a torpedo would be on a submarine. This keel works the same as a fin keel does, offering a slightly more stability without sacrificing speed. The biggest difference between a bulb and a fin keel (besides shape and length) is where they are used. Bulb keels are most commonly used in places with very shallow waters and lots of rock/shale/coral outcrops. Somewhere like the Caribbean would be the perfect place for a bulb keel. The rounded bulb bounces off the rocks and is less likely to break off. It just isn’t going to be as quick as if you used a fin keel.

The wing keel is another alternative to your standard fin keel. Just like the bulb keel, a wing keel is an extension to the standard fin keel with an extra fitting at the bottom. A wing keel is far more streamlined than a bulbed one, at the expense of being more susceptible to breaking. A wing keel looks very similar to the tail of an airplane. It works the same way, too. The water can pass by either side of the wings, allowing you to adjust your course easily. But, a wing keel does have one major problem. If you do run aground, digging out a wing keel can be very difficult. Whereas digging out a standard fin is as simple as scraping sand away from the sides of it, a wing keel must be dug out completely. The wings act like little shovels and wedge themselves into the sand. These are generally limited to higher performance racing classes.

Centerboard Keel

A centerboard keel works similarly to a fin keel but it can retract slightly. It works by having a dagger that folds out downwards. When you are sailing, the dagger protrudes outwards and offers you all the stability and balance of a fin keel. When you are in shallow water, the dagger can be retracted upwards, essentially shortening the keel temporarily. This should be done when you are sailing in shallow waters or removing the boat from the water entirely using a boat ramp. Some centerboards work on a loose hinge. When the boat is sailing along, the dagger is out and the fin works as normal. If you should bump into something though, like some shallow rocks, the hinge would push the daggerboard back inside. This stops the keel from breaking, instead, it just moves out the way. This only works if you are only just deep enough. If you are in very shallow water you would just break the centerboard off.

Canting Keel

A canting keel also works on a hinge. Instead of working end to end, it works port to starboard. When the boat turns a corner, the canting keel swings from side to side. This allows the boat to maximize its balance and speed. Eventually, this will become the norm in racing. But at the moment it is still quite experimental. The biggest downside is that the hinge works on hydraulics, and hydraulics can fail. If they should fail at sea there is very little you can do to repair them. Once they have perfected these canting keels, they will move first into the racing classes and high performance boats, then to all new cruising boats as boatbuilders improve the technology. .

Hopefully, you now have a good idea about what a sailboat keel is,how it works, why it is so important, and, of course, all the different types. Chances are, when you buy a sailboat , the keel it has is going to be at the bottom of your list of priorities. That being said, if you are planning on sailing somewhere in particular, it is a good idea to think about what keel type you are using. Replacing them doesn’t have to be expensive, but you can go a long way to saving yourself that money either way by being prepared for your home waters!

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Practical Boat Owner

• Digital edition

Keel types and how they affect performance

• Peter Poland
• June 19, 2023

Peter Poland looks at the history of keel design and how the different types affect performance

The Twister is a well-proven example of a generation of production yachts with ‘cutaway’ full keels and keel-hung rudders. Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

Having been a boatbuilder for around 30 years until the very early ‘noughties’, I’ve already witnessed – and even taken part in – a lot of changes in the world of yacht design and building.

Yacht design originally evolved as traditional workboats developed into leisure craft.

In his History of Yachting , Douglas Phillips-Birt writes that the Dutch, who gave the name ‘yacht’ to the world, were probably the first to use commercial craft for pleasure in the 16th century.

They created the first yacht harbour in Amsterdam in the 17th century.

When the schooner America visited the UK in 1851 and raced around the Isle of Wight, this led to the America’s Cup and the resulting merry-go-round of race-yacht design that continues to this day.

The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 35 offers three different fin keel configurations with different draughts plus a lifting keel version with a centreplate housed in a shallow winged keel stub. Credit: David Harding

The creation of what is now the Royal Yachting Association ( RYA ) in 1875 led to the introduction of handicap rules, establishing the sport in Britain.

These rating rules – and their numerous successors down the ages – have helped determine the evolution of yacht design and keel shapes.

Many early yachts were closely based on workboats, commercial cargo carriers or even privateers and naval vessels.

Initially, the ballast was carried in a long keel and the bilges .

New racing rules of the day taught designers to seek and tweak performance-enhancing features.

Maybe racing did not always improve the breed, but it certainly kept it moving ahead.

Artwork inspired by Ted Brewer’s illustration of keel types (excluding centreplate or lifting keels)

The late, great designer David Thomas believed that fishing boats, pilot cutters and oyster smacks had a large influence on the sport of sailing.

Each type of workboat was built to fulfil a specific purpose. And many had to be sailed short-handed while carrying heavy cargoes.

So they needed to combine form and function, sail well and be able to cope with heavy weather.

Proof of the versatility of working boat designs was provided by Peter Pye and his wife, Anne.

They bought a 30ft Polperro gaff-rigged fishing boat (built by Ferris of Looe in 1896) for £25 in the 1930s.

Having converted her to a sea-going cutter, and renamed her Moonraker of Fowey , they sailed the world for 20 years.

It proves how the simplest working boat design can cross oceans and fulfil dreams.

Racing influence on keel types and design

Most early yacht designs were schooners, but during the latter half of the 19th century the gaff cutter rig started to dominate the scene.

Many notable yachts were built at that time and the most important racing design was probably the yawl Jullanar (1875).

Designed and built by the agricultural engineer EH Bentall, she had, in his own words, “the longest waterline, the smallest frictional surface, and the shortest keel”.

She proved to be extremely fast and in her first season won every race she entered. Jullanar became the forerunner of such famous designs as GL Watson’s Thistle (1887), Britannia (1893), and Valkyrie II and Valkyrie III , both of which challenged for the America’s Cup during the 1890s.

Compare the She 36’s graceful overhangs with the vertical stems and sterns of most modern cruiser/racers

In the USA, Nat Herreshoff experimented with hull forms for racing yachts and produced the ground-breaking Gloriana in 1890.

She was a small boat for the times, with a waterline length of 46ft. Her hull form was very different to anything yet seen in the USA.

With long overhangs at bow and stern, her forefoot was so cut away that the entry at the bow produced a near-straight line from the stem to the keel.

It was a revolutionary design, and nothing at the time could touch her on the racecourse.

Many French models, such as this Beneteau, have opted for substantial pivoting keels. Credit: Peter Poland

Herreshoff wrote: “Above the waterline everything on Gloriana was pared down in size and weight… and every ounce of this saving in weight was put into the outside lead.”

Early English rating rules produced the ‘plank-on-edge’ yacht, where the beam became narrower and the draught got deeper.

New rating rules were then adopted to discourage this extreme type and eventually the Universal Rule was introduced in the USA and the International Rule – which produced the International Metre Classes – took over in Europe.

Yet again, racing rules proved to be a major influence on design development.

By the start of the 20th century the big, long-keeled racing yachts like the J Class attracted a lot of public attention, but after World War II everything changed. Yachts built to the Universal Rule fell from favour.

The age of the racing dinghy arrived and the ocean racer became the performance yacht of the future.

To new extremes

A 300-mile race from New York to Marblehead saw the start of offshore racing and the first Bermuda race was run in 1906.

The British were slower to compete offshore, but in 1925 seven yachts took up the challenge to race round the Fastnet Rock, starting from the Isle of Wight and finishing at Plymouth.

EG Martin’s French gaff-rigged pilot cutter Jolie Brise won the race and the Ocean Racing Club was formed.

In 1931 this became the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), which remains the governing body of offshore racing in Britain.

The ‘cutaway’ modified full keel was famously used by Olin Stevens on his mighty Dorade. Credit: Christopher Ison/Alamy

The early competitors in RORC races were long-keeled cruising boats, many of them gaff rigged and designed for comfort and speed.

But everything changed in 1931 when the young American Olin Stephens designed and then sailed his family’s 52ft yawl Dorade across the Atlantic to compete in that year’s Fastnet race.

She won with ease. Then she did it again in 1933, having first won the Transatlantic ‘feeder’ race.

At 52ft LOA, with sharp ends and 10ft 3in beam, some said Dorade looked like an overgrown yawl rigged 6-metre. But her triple-spreader main mast was revolutionary. As were her cutaway forefoot, lightweight construction, deep ballast and 7ft 7in draught.

Dorade took the long keel format to new extremes.

In the USA, the Cruising Club of America (CCA), founded in 1922, played much the same role as the RORC did in Britain.

It introduced its own rating rule which influenced the evolution of yacht design in the USA.

The Elan 333. Both the deep (1.9m) and shallow (1.5m) draught models feature an elegantly faired bulb keel and spade rudder. Credit: Peter Poland

Beam was treated more leniently under the CCA rule, so wider American designs later offered more space for accommodation and a bit more inherent form stability than RORC-rule inspired yachts.

Many famous designers of long-keel racing yachts at this time developed their skills at the yachtbuilding firms they ran, such as William Fife II (1821–1902), his son William III (1857–1944), Charles E Nicholson (1868–1954) of Camper & Nicholsons and Nat Herreshoff of Bristol, Rhode Island.

Around the same time several British yacht designers made their names, including George L Watson (1851–1904) who set up one of the earliest Design Offices and Alfred Mylne (1872–1951), who designed several successful International Metre Class yachts.

Norwegian designers Colin Archer (1832–1921) and Johan Anker (1871–1940) also joined the party.

Continues below…

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In 1873 Archer designed the first long keel Norwegian yacht, but his real interest was work boats – pilot boats, fishing craft, and sailing lifeboats – some of which were later converted into cruising yachts.

Erling Tambs’s Teddy was a classic Colin Archer long keel canoe-stern design in which he wandered the globe with his young wife and family.

He proved the seaworthiness of Archer’s yachts, as well as their speed, by winning the 1932 Trans-Tasman yacht race.

Fellow Norwegian Johan Anker – a one-time pupil of Nat Herreshoff – became equally famous, thanks to his Dragon-class design that still races today.

As a new generation of designers arrived on the scene in the 1930s, hull tank testing became more sophisticated.

Long keel designs became as much a science as an art.

The leader of this new wave of designers, Olin J Stephens, had been a junior assistant to Starling Burgess who designed race-winning J Class yachts, including the iconic Ranger .

Tank testing was then in its infancy but the USA was ahead of the game and Stephens stored away everything that he learned. He enjoyed a head start over his contemporaries.

Keel types: Fin keels

Between the 1930s and the 1980s more fin keel designs began to arrive on the scene and his firm Sparkman & Stephens produced many of the world’s top ocean racers.

He also designed America’s Cup 12-Metres that defended the cup up to 1983 until Ben Lexcen’s winged keel shook the sailing world.

Many S&S fin keel and skeg production boats – such as the Swan 36 (1967), 37, 40, 43, 48, 53 and 65, She 31 (1969) and 36 and S&S 34 (1968) – still win yacht races and are much sought after as classics.

The S&S 34 has several circumnavigations to its name. Stephens, of course, had his rivals.

Among these was the Englishman Jack Laurent Giles, whose light displacement race-winner Myth of Malham had one of the shortest ‘long keels’ of all time.

(L-R) A Sigma 38 designed by David Thomas and Gulvain (1949) by Jack Giles as a development of his Fastnet-winning Myth of Malham have very different keel types. Credit: Peter Poland

The Dutchman EG Van de Stadt designed the Pioneer 9 (1959) which was one of the first GRP fin keel and spade rudder racers.

Towards the end of his career, Olin Stephens also came up against Dick Carter, Doug Peterson, German Frers and the Kiwis Ron Holland and Bruce Farr.

The development of new shaped keels went hand in hand with this rapid evolution in yacht design.

The full keel, as still found on motor-sailers such as the Fisher range, gave way to the ‘cutaway’ modified full keel as famously used by Olin Stephens on his mighty Dorade , designed back in the late 1920s.

She still wins ‘classic’ yacht races in the USA. American designer Ted Brewer wrote in ‘ GoodOldBoat ’ that Dorade’s offshore racing successes proved that the full keel is not essential for seaworthiness.

The Nicholson 32’s modified ‘cutaway’ long keel results in excellent performance and handling. Credit: Genevieve Leaper

As a result of its improved performance and handling, the modified ‘cutaway’ long keel caught on quickly and became the standard for around 35 years.

This keel type is found on numerous popular designs such as the Nicholson 32 , 26 and 36, Twister 28 and many Nordic Folkboat derivations.

The modified full keel format had a cutaway profile, giving good handling and directional stability while having less wetted surface than the full keel designs.

These yachts can perform well in all conditions and have a comfortable motion.

Even though they are generally of heavier displacement than fin keelers, they are not much slower in light airs , despite their added wetted surface area.

Their main drawback is a wide turning circle ahead and reluctance to steer astern when under motor.

Keel types: Increased stability

The modified full keel was subsequently cut away more and more for bluewater and inshore racers in an attempt to reduce wetted area until, finally, some designers took it to extremes.

As a result, much-reduced directional stability produced craft that were difficult to steer in breezy conditions, broaching regularly.

Whereupon the fin keel and skeg-hung rudder took over, reinstating increased directional stability, improving windward ability, reducing drag and restoring – when under power – control astern and on slow turns.

This fin and skeg format was later followed by the NACA sectioned fin keel with a separate spade rudder .

Soon, many performance cruisers followed this race-boat trend.

The Hanse 430 has a spade rudder and bulbed keel (draught 2.16m or 1.79m shoal draught. Credit: Peter Poland

Many builders now also offer shoal draught fin keel options and shallower twin rudders.

Some, such as Hanse, incorporate L- or even T-shaped bulbs on some Hanses and Dehlers at the base of finely shaped cast iron fins.

A new international competition had encouraged the initial development of modern fin keel yacht designs.

The revamped One Ton Cup was launched in 1965 for yachts on fixed handicap ratings (typically around 37ft long).

This spawned later fixed-rating championships for Quarter Tonners (around 24ft), Half Tonners (around 30 ft), Three-Quarter Tonners (around 33ft), and finally Mini-Tonners (around 21ft).

All these yachts were eventually handicapped under the International Offshore Rule (IOR) that replaced the old RORC and CCA rules.

The revamped One Ton Cup helped encourage the developed of modern fin keel designs. Credit: Getty

Countless production fin keel cruisers designed and built in the 1970’s to 1990’s boom years were loosely based on successful IOR racers that shone in the ‘Ton Cup’ classes.

The IOR handicap system’s major drawback was its Centre of Gravity Factor (CGF) that discouraged stiff yachts.

Once the international IRC rule replaced the IOR, more thought was given to increasing stability by putting extra weight in a bulb at the base of the keel.

GRP production boats followed suit. The keel foil’s chord needed to be wide enough to give good lateral resistance (to stop leeway), yet not be so wide as to add unnecessary drag.

Exaggeratedly thin foils are not suited to cruising yachts because they can be tricky upwind.

Tracking is not their forte and they can stall out. A bonus was an easier ride downwind thanks to wider sterns.

Keel Types: Lead or iron?

And then there is lead. Almost every production cruiser has a cast iron keel for one simple reason; it is much cheaper than lead. But it’s not as good.

Not only does it rust; it is ‘bigger’ for the same given weight. A cubic metre of iron weighs around 7,000kg, while the same cubic metre of lead weighs around 11,300kg.

An iron keel displaces far more water (so has more drag) than the same lead weight. We had always put iron keels under our Hunters – as did our competitors.

But when we came to build the Van de Stadt HB31 cruiser-racer, designer Cees van Tongeren said “No. We use lead.” “Why?” I asked. Cees replied: “If we use iron, the keel displaces more, so the boat sails worse.”

Rustler 36 long keel’s cutaway forefoot delivers responsiveness and manoeuvrability – a reason the design is so popular in the Golden Globe Race. Credit: Beniot Stichelbaut/GGR/PPL

Which explains why top-flight race boats have lead keels – or at the very least composite keels with a lead bulb or base bolted to an iron upper foil, thus lowering the centre of gravity (CG).

Some modern production cruiser-racers offer high-performance lead or lead/iron composite keels – but at a price.

Many Danish X-Yacht and Elan race-boat models, for example, have a lead bulb on the base of an iron NACA section fin.

Rob Humphreys, current designer of the popular Elan and Oyster ranges, said: “The T-keel is good if you have sufficient draught available. If not, the fin element has too short a span to do its job. This is because the T-bulb doesn’t contribute as usefully to side force as a ‘filleted L-bulb.’

“I developed and tested this shape (a blended-in projection off the back of the main fin) for the maxi race boat Rothmans in 1988/9, and have since used it on the Oysters and Elan Impressions. The ‘filleted’ keel we tested for Rothmans had slightly more drag dead downwind (more wetted area) but was significantly better when any side-force occurred; and side-force goes hand-in-hand with heel angle – which is most of the time! When the model spec allows for reasonable draught, the keel option with the lowest centre of gravity will invariably be a T-keel, with a longer bulb giving the greatest scope for a slender ballast package. An L-keel is a compromise and doesn’t suffer from the risk of snagging lines, mooring warps, and nets. [many modern production cruisers have 100% cast iron L- or T-shaped keels]. A lead bulb is preferable to a cast iron keel in terms of volume and density, but it costs more. However, a lead T-keel in a production environment will almost certainly use a cast iron or SG Iron fin, which may rust.”

The Mystery 35, designed by Stephen Jones and built by Cornish Crabbers, has a lead fin keel. Photo: Michael Austen/Alamy

Rustler Yachts also uses lead instead of iron for their keels.

The Rustler 36 long keel (designed by Holman and Pye and winner of the 2018 Golden Globe Race) has a cutaway forefoot to improve responsiveness and manoeuvrability.

The long keel creates more drag but, as with the Rustler 24, the cutaway forefoot makes the 36 more nimble than a full long keel boat, which are more difficult to manoeuvre in reverse under power.

The rest of Rustler’s offshore range – the Rustler 37, 42, 44 and 57 – designed by Stephen Jones – have lead fin keels.

As does his Mystery 35 built by Cornish Crabbers.

These offer an excellent combination of directional stability, performance and lateral stability. The yachts track well, are comfortable in choppy seas, and have good manoeuvrability, all without the flightiness of shorter chord fin keels found on many production family cruisers.

A digital future

Influential designer David Thomas said: “When I started designing, I integrated sharp leading edges to the keel; until someone told me a radius was better. Then we were all taught that an elliptical shape was better still. With the advent of computers, designers could better visualise the end-product; and clever ‘faring programs’ speeded this up.”

So where next? A combination of lighter and stronger materials, rapidly developing computer programs, a desire for maximum interior volume and low costs has led us to today’s production yacht.

Twin rudders improve the handling of broad-sterned yachts when heeled.

The IRC rating rule permits low CG keels, wider beam and near-vertical bows and sterns.

And designers now have an array of new computer tools at their disposal. But maybe there’s still that element of black magic?

As David Thomas so succinctly said: “You can design a yacht 95% right, but the last 5% can be down to luck.”

Keel types : the pros and cons

Full length keel

The Fisher 31 and many motor-sailers have long keels. Credit: Peter Poland

Pros: Directional stability. Heavy displacement leading to comfort at sea.

Cons: Poor windward performance. Large wetted surface leads to drag. When under power at low speeds, the turning circle is wide unless fitted with thrusters. The same applies to manoeuvring astern.

Cutaway modified long keel form with keel-hung rudder

Pros: Reduced wetted surface area leading to increased boat speed. Better windward performance and handling than full length keel. Rudder on the aft end of the keel improves self-steering ability on some designs.

Cons: Under engine, this keel form has a large turning circle ahead and poor control astern. Since the rudder is not ‘balanced’, the helm on some designs can feel quite heavy.

Fin keel with skeg-hung rudder

The skeg gives protection to the rudder. Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

Pros: The further reduction in wetted surface area leads to more boat speed. Directional stability and close-windedness are also improved. If full depth, the skeg can protect the rudder against collision damage.

Cons: When combined with a narrow stern, this keel format can induce rolling when sailing dead downwind in heavy winds.

Fin keel with separate spade rudder

Fin keel with spade: Low wetted surface and aerofoil shapes enhance performance. Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

Pros: The fin and spade rudder mix reduces wetted surface and gives a more sensitive helm – especially if the blade has ‘balance’ incorporated in its leading edge. Handling under power in astern is precise and the turning circle is small.

Cons: The rudder is fully exposed to collisions. There are no fittings connecting the rudder to a keel or skeg, so the rudder stock and bearings need to be very robust.

Shallow stub keel with internal centreplate.

Pros: When lowered, the plate gives good windward performance. The plate can act as an echo sounder in protected shallow water. There is normally no internal centreplate box to disrupt accommodation. With the plate raised, off-wind performance is good.

Cons: The plate lifting wire needs regular inspection and occasional replacement. Windward performance with the plate raised is poor.

Lifting or swing keel

Boats with lifting keels tend to surf earlier downwind. Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

Pros: Shallowest draught so more cruising options; can also be moored on cheaper moorings. Surfs early downwind. Small wetted surface so can be fast.

Cons: Reduced living space due to internal keel box. With a raised keel, poor directional control. Susceptible to hull damage if grounding on hard material.

Twin or bilge keel

Bilge- or twin-keelers can take the ground on the level. Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

Pros: Can take the ground in a level position. Modern twin-keel designs with around 15º splay, around 2º toe-in and bulbed bases perform well upwind. Good directional stability due to the fins. Modern twin keels with bulbed bases lower the centre of gravity.

Cons: Older designs do not point upwind well. Slapping sound under windward keel when at a steep angle of heel on older designs. Antifouling between the keels can be tricky. Can be more expensive than fin keels.

Wing keel: A low centre of gravity gives a good righting moment. Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

Pros: Low centre of gravity means good righting moment. Shallow draught. Sharper windward performance.

Cons: Larger surface area means it is more likely to pick up fishing gear, like lobster pots. Difficult to move once it is grounded. And difficult to scrub keel base when dried out alongside a wall.

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How keel type affects performance

• Chris Beeson
• December 2, 2016

James Jermain looks at the main keel types, their typical performance and the pros and cons of each

A fin keel and spade rudder configuration gives high pointing but can be sensitive on the helm Credit: Graham Snook/YM

James Jermain has tested hundreds of yachts in his 30 years as Yachting Monthly’s chief boat tester

The performance and handling of a yacht depends on many things, but perhaps the most important single feature is the shape of the hull and the profile of the keel. Over the years hulls have become shallower and keels narrower, but for many types of sailing this progression is not necessarily progress. Of the various shapes that have evolved, each has its own advantages in different circumstances. Here is a run-down of how they may fit your sort of sailing.

FIN KEEL WITH SPADE RUDDER

A low wetted surface area and aerofoil shape means speed and agility

The most common modern option, usually combined with light but beamy hulls with high freeboard.

GENERAL AND TO WINDWARD

• Low wetted surface and good aerofoil shape means good speed, high pointing and quick tacking
• Light steering
• Best designs can slice through heavy seas in reasonable comfort
• High volume, light-weight designs can be lively and tiring in heavy weather
• Flat sections can cause slamming
• Less steady on the helm, requiring more work and concentration
• Strong tendency to round-up when hard pressed
• Generally require earlier reefing
• Can be unstable when hove to
• Quick to surf and may even plane
• Can broach easily and suddenly
• Can be directionally unstable and hard to control in heavy conditions

UNDER POWER

• Handling is precise and turns tight and quick
• Some handle almost as well astern as ahead
• Limited lateral area so susceptible to beam winds at low speeds
• An unattended helm can slam over suddenly

FIN KEEL WITH SKEG RUDDER

The skeg running aft protects the rudder and improves tracking under sail and power

Similar to above but with some key differences.

• Skeg provides better support for the rudder
• Tracking under sail or power is improved
• There is less chance of damage
• More wetted surface so potentially slower
• Objects can get stuck between rudder and skeg
• Limited balancing can make helm heavier

The mass of a long keel is often more seakindly and will carry way well.

The traditional option, usually found on pre-1970s designs.

• Good tracking
• Slow, soft, comfortable motion
• Drive powerfully through short seas but can be wet
• Carry way through tacks
• Resist rounding-up
• Heave-to well
• High wetted surface area and a poor aerofoil shape, so speed reduced, tacking slow, leeway increased and pointing ability reduced
• Long ends can cause hobby-horsing
• An unbalanced hull or rig can cause heavy helm
• Track well and very resistant to broaching
• Very stable in heavy conditions
• Reluctant to surf (a mixed blessing)
• Carry way well
• Track straight
• Heavy construction can reduce vibration and noise
• Large turning circle ahead
• Unpredictable and hard to control astern

LIFTING OR SWING KEEL

A lifting keel enables beaching, but beware of stones jamming the plate

The ultimate shallow-draught option.

• A fully retracting keel offers shallowest draught
• A well-designed lifting keel can be very efficient and fast
• Grounding on anything other than soft mud or sand can damage an unprotected hull
• Stub keels offer better protection but are less efficient and prevent level drying out, except in soft mud
• Stones and dried mud can jam the lifting plate
• Internal keel boxes reduce accommodation space
• Directional stability is poor
• Early surfing and planing
• Control can easily be lost in strong winds
• Good performance and handling with keel down
• Directional control increasingly poor as the keel is raised

TWIN OR BILGE KEEL

A bilge-keeler will dry out upright on a flat bottom

A popular shoal-draught option in Britain, less so abroad.

• Shallower draught
• Dry out upright on a flat bottom
• Good protection when grounding
• Good designs are better to windward than long keels, almost as good as fins
• Pointing and speed to windward is reduced, considerably so in older designs
• When well heeled, waves can slap under the windward keel
• Can topple over if one keel finds a hole or soft ground

Modified water flow over the wing keel foot can give the motion of a longer, heavier boat

Once popular, now largely replaced with various types of bulb.

• Reduced draught
• Low CoG means good righting moment
• Modified water flow over keel foot means greater efficiency and gives the motion of a longer, heavier boat
• More likely to pick up lobster pots, etc
• Risky drying out
• Weed and barnacle growth under wings difficult to remove

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• Sailboat Reviews

A Look at Sailboat Design: Fin Keels vs. Full Keels

Details like keel design count when considering cruising sailboats..

Photos by Ralph Naranjo

When a keel tears away from a sailboats hull, it makes the loss of a rig or rudder seem like a minor inconvenience. History shows that its an uncommon occurrence, but because we now annually hear of such incidents, weve decided to take a closer look at keels and see what keeps the ballast where it belongs.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Offshore Special Regulations devotes pages to helping sailors prevent and respond to a crew overboard incident. There is nothing about how to handle the loss of a keel or ballast bulb. Some might say this is because such occurrences are so infrequent, while others note that, if youre still upright once the ballast breaks off theres not much you can do other than blow the sheets, douse the sails as quickly as possible and attempt to stop any leaks.

When solo sailor Mike Plants Open 60 Coyote lost her lead bulb in 1992, Mike was lost at sea. Other adventure-sailors have survived near instantaneous capsize precipitated by keel loss. In 2003, round-the-world racer Tim Kent and his crew capsized when Everest Horizontal lost its ballast on the way back from Bermuda. US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee Chairman Chuck Hawley was aboard the racing sloop Charlie, on the way back from Hawaii, when a loud groaning sound led to a deep heel as the lead peeled away from the keel bolts and ballast headed straight to the bottom. This encounter at least had a happy ending thanks to the crews quick actions to douse sail. Apparently the keel had been cast with too little antimony (an additive that causes lead to become a harder alloy). The point here is that keeping the keel attached is as important as keeping the crew safely on board. And for the offshore monohull sailor, preventing a keel loss, like preventing crew overboard, requires some informed forethought.

A ballast keel on a sailboat is a classic example of potential energy poised in a balancing act. The buoyancy of the hull itself offsets the effect of thousands of pounds of lead or iron. At rest, gravitys attraction for the dense material strains against the buoyancy of the hull, and the adjacent garboard region is continuously in tension. Few sailors spend much time contemplating how keel bolts corrode and what cycle-loading does to the resin matrix comprising the garboard region just above the ballast. What is apparent, is that the attachment material, whether it be wood, metal or fiber reinforced plastic (FRP), must be able to support a mass of metal weighing as much as a small truck-and do so day in and day out for decades.

Underway, every tack causes the rig and sailplan to try to lever this ballast package free from the hull. And when the helmsman starts daydreaming about lobster for dinner and wanders off course onto a granite ledge Down East, the keel designed to handle sailing loads takes it on the chin. Its easy to see why experienced designers and builders lose sleep over their decisions about keel shape, structure, and what kind of safety factor should be built into the structure.

Its surprising to discover that with better materials and computer-aided design, we still hear about incidents such as the Rambler capsize in the 2011 Fastnet Race (PS, May 2012). Just as significant is a spate of smaller race boat keel-ectomies that have caused ISAF to send out a cautionary note to sailors around the world, and introduce new structural standards for race boats. Keeping the ballast attached to the boat involves an awareness of a chain-like set of failure points. And one of the most difficult decisions each designer must make is how to marry foil efficiency with a structural safety margin that covers the boats intended usage and the unintended use of the keel as a depth sounding device.

For decades, engineers and naval architects have had to contend with some racing sailors Icarus-like quest-a trend that prioritizes shedding weight and making the keel foil a long, thin appendage with a high-aspect ratio. Though not quite a flight toward the sun with wings made of wax and feathers, some race-boat scan’tlings walk a fine line between lightweight and structural failure. The challenge lies in attaching a lead bulb on a high-tensile steel foil to a lightweight, high-modulus, FRP hull. Interconnecting the dense metallic ballast to the lower-density foam/fiberglass hull structure is a true engineering puzzle. Part of the challenge lies in the dissipation of point loads (confined to a relatively small area) and how to handle the resulting stress risers. A stress riser is the point at which theres an abrupt change in a materials flexibility, such as where a stiff, fin keel meets the more elastic hull bottom. In FRP composites like those found in a balsa-cored hull, stress risers are a likely place for delamination to occur. Over time, these can result in the failure of the FRP composite.

The see-saw effect of the keel counteracting a vessels righting moment is a mathematically predictable energy transfer. Even the effect of groundings such as those that turn hull speed into a dead stop can be quantified. But its the cumulative effect of fatigue (localized structural damage caused by cyclical loading) and corrosion that are harder to pin down.

The term allision refers to hitting a fixed object such as a granite ledge or coral reef. Naval architects analyze the energy transfer and evaluate the stress and strain characteristics that occur. The recognition that the keel-to-hull connection must endure even more punishment than is doled out in heavy-weather sailing episodes is at the heart of how structural specs are devised.

Designers also must consider the jack-hammer-like pounding of a keel on a reef in surf, and realize that there are limits to the abuse a keel and hull can endure. With this in mind, its reasonable to assume that sailboat keels should be built to handle sailing induced loads for decades. It is the extra safety factor built into the boat that defines what happens when the sandbar is a rock pile.

What is harder to anticipate are the unusual encounters that can inflict serious damage to the keel connection. Take, for example, what happens when a sailboats deep fin keel is wedged in a rocky cleft and a good Samaritan with a big powerboat attempts to pivot the sailboat using a line attached to the bow. The distance from the keels vertical centerline to the stem may be 20 feet or more, and with a couple of thousand pounds of bollard pull, the 20-foot lever arm creates a rotary force that can spike to 40,000 foot-pounds or more. This level of torque goes well beyond what most designers and builders model as sailing loads, and its likely to seriously damage the boat.

In plain low-tech talk, extreme fin keels provide a valuable performance edge, but they come with their own set of downsides that every owner needs to be aware of. In essence, the more radical the keel shape, the better the crew must navigate.

A couple of decades ago, PS Technical Editor Ralph Naranjo ran a boatyard and had a client who liked to cut the corners during Block Island Race Week. His first spinnaker reach into a granite boulder stopped the boat and shoved the companionway ladder upward six inches. This underscored how an allision that causes the keel to stop abruptly transfers a shock wave through the entire hull. The resulting compression cracked several transverse members in the New York 40 and damaged the core in the canoe body near the garboard.

The FRP repairs had to be tapered and all delamination problems resolved. The moderate-aspect-ratio lead fin keel absorbed a good deal of the blunt trauma. Judging from the cannonball-size dent on the leading edge of the lead keel, it was clear that the impact was significant. The dent offered grim proof of the advantage of having soft lead instead of steel as keel ballast. New floor frames were added, the broken transverse members were replaced, and the boat was off and sailing.

The next season, the boat had another Block Island encounter, and only because the Petersen-designed New York 40 was a pretty ruggedly built boat was a second repair even considered. This time, an equally violent keel-to-hull trauma came from an on-the-wind encounter with a different rock. The extent of the delamination was greater than it had been in the first go round, and more extensive core removal and repair was required. The keel was dropped in order to check the bolts and the garboard. With the bilge fully opened for the FRP repair work, the repair crew made a pattern of the canoe body dead rise and fore and aft contour. As the glass work was being completed, they fabricated a stainless-steel grid that would spread keel loads fore and aft as well as athwartship. The new grid reinforced the keel attachment and returned the sloop to the race course.

Afterward, Naranjo and the owner discussed the details of the repair, including the possibility of hidden, widespread damage from the two groundings. These included the dynamic loads imposed upon the chainplates and rigging, the likelihood of hidden resin-cracking, and potential for more delamination and core shear linked to the torque induced by the accident. In short, any serious allision causes overt and hard-to-detect damage far from the actual impact zone, and these can lead to more problems down the road. When buying a used boat, look for a good pedigree, but also look for signs of previous blunt-force trauma. A good surveyor will be skilled in such structural forensics, and he or she will do more than comment on the gelcoat shine.

In the early days of wooden ships and iron men, a lack of dense metal ballast put less point-loading in the garboard region of the hull. Bilges free of cargo were filled with rocks or tighter-fitting granite blocks cut for more compact stacking. The principal of ballasting a vessel was to lower her center of gravity (CG) and create both an increase in the righting arm and a greater righting moment to offset the heeling moment created by the rig and sail plan. The keel also helped lessen leeway and would evolve into an appendage that added lift.

Movable ballast had a few downsides, not the least of which was its propensity to move in the wrong direction at the very worst moment. Even small boat sailors have found out what can happen to unsecured pigs of lead ballast when the boat heels far enough over for gravity to overcome friction. Whether stones, lead, movable water ballast, or a can’ting keel are used to augment the boats righting moment, a sailor must anticipate the worst-case scenario. This is when the weight ends up on the leeward side of the boat and a bad situation can turn into a real catastrophe. Fixing or locking ballast in place, controlling the volume of water put in ballast tanks, and limiting the can’ting keels range are sensible compromises.

Internal ballast, the ballast inside a keel envelope thats contiguous with the hull, is still seen in many new boats. Island Packet is an example of a builder has stuck with this traditional approach of securing ballast without using keel bolts. Its a sensible design for shoal-draft cruisers, and the upsides are numerous. These high-volume, long-range cruisers arent encumbered by the demands prioritized by light displacement, performance-oriented sailors. Instead, Island Packets combine a rugged laminate and a long-footed, shallow-draft keel. This may not place the lead or iron ballast as deep as the tip of a fin keel, but it does keep the all-important CG low enough to deliver a powerful righting moment along with shoal draft.

In order to deliver the high angle of vanishing stability (AVS) also known as limit of positive stability (LPS), designer Bob Johnson puts what amounts to an internal bulb in the very lowest point in the boat. This long slug of iron or lead (depending on the model) is then covered by Portland cement, locking it in the Island Packets monocoque structure. The result is a contiguous FRP structure spreading keel loads efficiently over a considerable amount of hull skin. Keel bolts and the infamous garboard seam are completely eliminated. This approach to sailboat keel design dates back to the Rhodes Bounty II and other prototypes in the production world of sailboats. Now over 50 years old, many of these boats continue to have a tenacious grasp on the lead or iron that they hold.

Encapsulated iron ballast is much less desirable than encapsulated lead, and its sad to see builders skimp on this. Iron, or even worse steel, has been used in many Far Eastern encapsulated keels. It works as long as water and the resulting oxidation havent caused expansion and cracking of the seal. Lead is also denser than ferrous metal, and therefore, the same amount of ballast will have a smaller volume and create less drag.

Encapsulated ballast starts to be less appealing as keels become more fin-like and high-aspect ratio. The reason for this is that the geometry of the support changes, focusing more load on less area of the hull. As hull shapes evolved into canoe underbodies with hard turns in the bilge, and fin-like keels became thinner, deeper, and with shorter chord measurements (thickness), the concept of encapsulated keel became impractical. The Cal 40, Ericson 39, Pearson 365, and a long list of similar genre boats signified the end of an era when performance racer/cruisers would be built with encapsulated ballast.

External Ballast

Performance-oriented sailors and race-boat designers quickly latched on to hull shapes marked by deep-draft, foil-shaped, high-aspect ratio fin keels. From the late 60s to whats currently glowing on CAD screens in designer offices around the world, keels have grown deeper and shorter in chord length, and bulb or anvil-like tips have grown more and more common.

The design development was sound, lift was enhanced, and deeper-not longer-became the answer to getting to windward faster. The challenge was not only in designing an efficient shape, it lay in creating an attachment means that minimized foil flex and twist, retained the low drag coefficient, and still had the ability to withstand an occasional, albeit modest, grounding.

During this same period, marine surveyors and boatyard techs began to see moderate groundings result in major structural problems. The classic example was the allision that produced a moderate dent in the lead at the leading edge of the keel tip. In many cases, further inspection revealed cracks radiating outward from a knot meter or depth sounder mistakenly placed just ahead of the keel. An even closer look often revealed grid damage or a cracked bulkhead just aft of the last keel bolt. Like the New York 40 mentioned earlier, this was a result of a shock wave radiating through the hull structure. As we learned in Mrs. McCrearys science class, Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion, unless acted on by an equal and opposite force. Fin keel sailboats encountering abrupt energy transfers,tend to endure more damage than their long-keel counterparts.

A forensic look at the Achilles heel of external ballast highlights a few pitfalls. First the good news: Lead absorbs impact well, consuming much of the imparted energy through deformation. However, the translation of the remaining energy from the metal keel foil and keelbolts into an FRP hull is where we often find stress risers, and point loading linked to material and hull shape changes. The near right-angle interface between a modern sailboats canoe body and its deep fin keel is a classic load-path hotspot. In the old days, fiberglass techs spoke of oil-canning or the dimpling of a large section of the garboard as tacks were swapped.

Today Naval Architects use Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to better engineer hull structure. Colorized graphics pinpoint load concentration, glowing bright red in the region where the keel joins the hull, the epicenter of the oil-canning. A common solution to coping with this high-load focal point, is to eliminate core in the region and to gradually increase the unit schedule (layers of FRP), or to add an internal FRP grid. Maximum thickness of a keel stub is located where the keelbolts penetrate the stub. In this region, the solid glass thickness is often equal to the dimension of the keel bolt diameter or even greater.

Laminate thickness at the keel bolts is only part of the equation. Just as important is how the transition to the general hull laminate transpires. A bullet-proof keel stub that immediately transitions into a core hull comprising two units of laminate on each side of the panel creates whats equivalent to a tear-on-the-dotted-line weakness. Transitions that involve sharp angles and marked differences in panel strength require a well-reinforced taper that spreads loads gradually rather than abruptly.

Occasionally, we see massive metal frameworks used in the bilge as support for keel bolts; these structures need to be carefully engineered to not create the same hard spot fracture points. When carefully tapered in order to gradually introduce more flex, the problem is abated, as it was in the repair of the New York 40 mentioned earlier. The stainless-steel grid built to support the keel loads incorporated a gradual decrease in stiffness to the framework. The keel was carefully mated to the underside of this grid to ensure full contact (See Keel Bolt Repair Options, online). As a result, the crew relieved the hard spots at the end points and made the transition to the more flexible FRP hull less dramatic.

For cruisers, the take-away lesson is that extra reinforcement, a long garboard keel-to-hull interface, and internal transverse and longitudinal reinforcement really do pay off. Keep in mind that the extra weight this entails is all below the center of gravity and contributes to the secondary righting moment as well as keeping the water out.

This is a big departure from the way many modern production boats are built. They carry a skimpy ballast ratio of 30 percent or less, have less structure to support the keel and are not designed to handle unintended cruising consequences. There are exceptions, and its worth looking at the keel design and structure of the Navy 44 Mark II and the USCG Leadership 44 (see PS, August 2012). These boats utilize external ballast and are examples of rugged keel attachment. They have a relatively long keel-to-stub garboard junction, the laminate scan’tling meets American Bureau of Shipping recommendations, and both utilize an overabundance of 316 stainless-steel keel bolts and an FRP grid to keep the keel where it belongs.

There are many reasons why were seeing more keel problems today. On one hand, light, fast, race-boat design pushes the envelope, and thats probably OK. But when mainstream racer/cruisers start to suffer from lead loss, too much of one good thing (high-aspect ratio) and too little of another good thing (reinforcement) can begin creeping into design and construction.

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9 Popular Boats With Lifting Keels (With Pictures & Prices)

If you are looking for a sailboat, you might want to consider one that features a lifting keel.

Lifting keels allow you to explore shallower waters, reduce drag, or other advantages when the keel is lifted.

Here are the boats you should check out first!

Table of Contents

What is a Lifting Keel?

As you probably know, the keel of a boat is the longitudinal structural device on the bottom of your hull.

On a sailboat, the keel serves as an underwater fluid machine that helps to minimize the lateral motion of the vessel that is under sail, as well as acting as a counterweight to the lateral force that comes from the wind on the sails which can cause it to roll to the side.

A lifting keel, sometimes known as a centerboard, is a keel that retracts into the hull of a sailboat or pivots and allows for certain advantages.

A lifting keel’s main function is to provide a lift to counter the lateral force that is created by the sails. This allows the sailboat to move other directions other than downwind.

Because these keels lift into the hull, you would be able to take your vessel into shallower waters.

In addition, a lifting keel is ideal for:

• Moving the center of resistance.
• Reducing drag.
• Removing the boat from the water and trailering it.

Centerboards are different than other types of keels, such as a ballast keel, because they do not contribute to the overall stability of the vessel because they are not as heavy and instead they only provide lateral resistance.

Great Boats with Lifting Keels Under $30,000

If you are looking for a boat that features a lifting keel and all that comes with it, you are in luck!

Below, I have compiled a list of great boats that feature a lifting keel.

1. Parker 235 Mini Cruiser

The Parker 235 Mini Cruiser is a small sailboat that should be great for sailors who would like to trailer their boat and explore multiple destinations.

This sailboat exhibits excellence both afloat and while onshore. This features high performance due to its long waterline, stable hull, and a deep low center of gravity.

This boat features a custom boat trailer and is easy to launch and as well as to trailer.

This boat is 23’ 5” in length. Despite its smaller size, there is no compromising with the internal accommodations. The boat featured 2 berths, a galley, and a head compartment.

This boat also has a lifting keel which reduces the draft by 3’ 6”.

This boat can be found used at a price of around $20,000.00.

RELATED: Common Problems With Parker Boats .

2. Hunter 22

The Hunter 22 sailboat is a perfect small daysailer that features the capacity to stay aboard overnight. This vessel is ideal for up to five passengers and features a large cabin.

This boat is 21’ 4” in length and is easy to launch, rig, and trailer when needed.

This boat features a lifting keel that reduces draft by 2’ 6” when lifted up.

This boat has a starting price of $29,990.00.

3. BayRaider 20

The BayRaider 20 manufactured by Swallow Yachts, is a small open sailboat that is ideal for families or sailors who are looking for something stable and safe.

This boat has features that make it ideal for beginner sailors including the ability to keep the ballast tanks full for added stability.

This vessel also features a two-masted ketch that gives an advantage over a single-mast rig because it allows for a quick reduction of sail.

This boat is almost 20 feet long and is light enough to be trailered or handled by one person.

This boat features a lifting keel that reduces the draft by 3.8 feet when lifted.

This boat has a starting price of $27,750.00.

4. Catalina 22 Sport

Catalina strives to encourage sailors who are interested in racing with the Catalina 22 Sport. This boat is small and measures at 23’ 10”.

This boat also has a cabin that features berths for up to 4 adults. This boat is a great choice for those looking for speed and easy maneuverability while still offering the ability to stay aboard overnight.

This boat has a lifting keel that reduces the draft of the boat by 3’ 2” while lifted.

This boat has a starting price of $23,550.00.

5. Marlow-Hunter 15

The Marlow-Hunter 15 is a safe and versatile daysailer for families or individuals who new to sailing. This boat was designed with sailing novices in mind and features high sides, a contoured self-bailing cockpit, and a wide beam that was built for comfort.

These safety features will allow peace of mind for parents and brand new sailors.

This vessel is also easy to trailer, rig and launch.

With a length of 14’ 6”, you can fit a crew of up to four onboard but this boat can also be handled solo.

This vessel features a lifting keel that reduces the draft by 3 feet when lifted.

This boat features a highly affordable starting price of $10,123.00.

Models Between $30,000.00 and $100,000.00:

6. feeling 326.

The Feeling 326 was manufactured between the years of 1987 and 1999. This boat is a cruising sailboat that is 32’ 6” in length and comes with 2 cabins, 6 berths, and 1 head.

This boat is great if you plan to go out for long journeys with multiple people.

Even though this boat is an older model, you should still be able to expect quality sailing from them.

This boat also features a lifting centerboard that reduces the draft by 2’ 7”.

Depending on the year and the seller of the vessel, these boats are selling for an average price of between $30,000 and $45,000.00.

7. Norseboat 21.5

The Norseboat 21.5 is the largest model in the Norseboat line with a length of 21’ 10”. You can get either a Cabin or an Open model for this boat.

You can customize this vessel based on your needs and other factors. You can construct a standard or semi-custom Norseboat.

This boat features a lifting centerboard that reduces draft by 2’ 4” when lifted.

Depending on the layout and chosen options, this boat has a starting price of $37,490.00.

Boats Over $100,000.00:

8. alubat ovni 365:.

From the manufacturer Alubat, the Ovni 365 combines their experience in centerboards and high performance to create a vessel that is both comfortable and high performing.

This boat is great whether you are traveling upwind or downwind. This boat is great for both long trips or for simply cruising up and down the coast.

This boat is 39.17 feet long and features a galley as well as a front and rear cabin.

This boat features a lifting centerboard that reduces the draft by about 5.18 feet when lifted.

Depending on the year and specifications of this vessel, the price could range from $100,000 to $300,000.

9. Southerly 42 RST

Southerly makes a mono-hull 42 RST that is an offshore deck saloon sailboat that was built for cruising. This boat has a length of 42’ 2” and could be equipped with either 2-3 cabins, 4-8 berths, and comes with 2 heads.

This boat is great for taking multiple people out on the water. While these are no longer in production, they were made between the years 2007 and 2017.

This boat has a lifting keel that reduces the draft by 6’ 1” when the keel is up.

Depending on the year and the condition, this boat could cost a minimum of $250,000 but if often over $300,000.00.

10. Gunfleet 43

The Gunfleet 43 is a top of the line vessel with many options for customization. This boat is large and luxurious with a length of 44’ 1”.

This boat features a standard layout with either 2 or 3 cabins, or you could get a custom-built version that also has 3 cabins.

This vessel offers high-end luxurious features that are ideal for long trips and even vessels that you would consider for living aboard.

This line features an optional lifting keel that would reduce draft by 4’ 4” when lifted.

This luxurious and custom-crafted vessel has a large price tag of over $800,000.00.

Keel Types and Performance:

The lifting keel is not the only keel that is available for your vessel. Each keel type is built for a different type of performance.

Some of these keel types include:

• Fin Keel with Spade Rudder
• Fin Keel with Skeg Rudder
• Lifting or Swing Keel
• Twin or Bilge Keel

Make sure before you buy your vessel, you consider the type of performance you are looking for on your vessel and research the ideal keel for you.

This can help you when selecting which boat to purchase and will help you get the maximum performance and use out of your vessel.

If you do not buy the boat with the proper keel type , then you will not get the necessary performance needed. Some keels are made to be more stable, some are made to be more versatile, and some such as the lifting keel is made to be able to be optional depending on what type of activity you plan to achieve in your vessel.

A lifting keel is a great option for those who are looking for shallow draught, speed, efficiency, and the ability to plane your vessel early.

The lifting keel is not ideal if you are planning to use it to offer additional stability. If you are looking for additional stability, you will want to look at different and heavier keel options.

If that sounds ideal for you, you will benefit from one of the many daysailers or overnight vessels that offer a lifting keel listed above.

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Prosecutors to investigate Mike Lynch superyacht’s keel

Prosecutors will investigate the keel on Mike Lynch’s superyacht after it was found “partially elevated”.

On Wednesday, specialist divers continued to recover the remains of the missing passengers, and the tech entrepreneur and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah are believed to be among those pulled out of the water.

While exploring the Bayesian 165ft underwater on the seabed, it was reported that the vessel’s retractable keel was partially raised, raising questions about the boat’s stability at the time of the sinking.

The fin-like structure under the hull helped to stabilise the boat, acting as a counterweight to the mast, and stretched to 9.83 metres when the vessel’s centreboard was fully extended, according to a brochure about the yacht’s performance .

Experts have suggested the keel would normally be fully extended for extra stability during bad weather.

Dr Jean-Baptiste Souppez, a senior lecturer in Mechanical, Biomedical and Design Engineering at Aston University, and a fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, said: “The keel is vital to the stability of sailing vessels, and a deeper keel will provide additional stability.

“However, this is at the expense of draft, meaning shallow-water harbours and anchorages may become out of reach.

“For this reason, large superyachts are typically fitted with a lifting keel, allowing part of the keel to retract inside the vessel and reduce the draft. In such a case, the stability of the vessel is greatly diminished.

“Part of the investigation will, therefore, look into the keel. It is important to note that, even if found partially up, this could result from the impact with the bottom of the sea as the vessel sank, so early external observations may not be sufficient to draw conclusions.”

Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy frigate commander and current Telegraph columnist , said: “If it turns out that this keel was retractable, and that was its condition during this accident, then that would change your stability condition a great deal and would probably bring the pendulum effect of the mast into play.

“It doesn’t change what should be standard responses to bad weather at anchor, such as tracking forecasts, keeping a good visual look out and then when it happens, checking the upper deck for watertight integrity/security, starting your engine, taking the weight off the anchor and so on. It just makes them even more important.”

Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese have opened an investigation into the disaster and will seek to establish what caused the boat to sink and if any of the crew are criminally liable.

Another early focus of the investigation, which is expected to last months, is likely to be whether the yacht’s crew had failed to close access hatches into the vessel before it was hit by a tornado above the sea, known as a waterspout, off the coast of Sicily .

Survivor interviews

Ambrogio Cartosio, the chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, and assistant prosecutors must determine what went wrong and whether the sinking of the Bayesian was down to human error or simply a freak weather event.

He and his team have already started interviewing the 15 survivors  as well as gathering evidence from emergency workers and divers from the coast guard and the national fire service.

The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch, which has sent investigators to the scene, is also expected to support the prosecutor’s inquiries.

The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini Navi, the company that built the Bayesian yacht, said that even without the retractable keel the vessel would still be stable.

A spokesman said: “The yacht was built in 2008 by the Perini shipyards of Viareggio and the last refit was in 2020.

“The controversies about the mast are sterile controversies because the mast, according to those who have seen it, is intact.

“The retractable keel stabilizes the ship, but even without the keel completely out the ship is stable and only a massive entry of water could have caused the sinking which did not happen in a minute as someone wrote.”

Bodies recovered

Teams of specialist divers, including some who took part in the Costa Concordia recovery , spent most of Wednesday searching for the six missing passengers who had gathered on the boat to celebrate Mr Lynch’s acquittal in a fraud trial .

The teams broke through a 3cm pane of glass on the side of the yacht yesterday and entered the hull, using special jacks produced by a locksmith in Porticello.

Divers had been frustrated by a 12-minute time limit required when working at a depth of 48 metres and had spoken about the challenges of dealing with narrow corridors and floating debris obstructing their way. They used remotely operated vehicles to help them in the search.

Eventually, two bodies were recovered from the wreckage on Wednesday – believed to be those of Mike Lynch and his teenage daughter, Hannah.

Three other bodies were then found, but only two were recovered and brought to shore, Salvatore Cocina, the head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, confirmed. One person remains missing.

As the body bags were taken back to the port of Porticello, dozens of emergency services staff were waiting and one was seen being put in the back of an ambulance.

The Italian coast guard previously did not rule out the possibility that those missing may still be alive, with experts speculating air pockets could have formed as the yacht sank.

Also missing are Jonathan Bloomer, the Morgan Stanley International bank chairman, and his wife Judy Bloomer, as well as Chris Morvillo, a Clifford Chance lawyer, and his wife Neda Morvillo.

The Bayesian was moored about half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at about 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm.

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What Is The Keel Of A Boat?

A boat keel is a long, narrow, and often weighted beam that extends along the centerline of the hull of a vessel from the stem to the stern. The primary purpose of a keel is to provide structural support and stability for the hull. In many boats, the keel also serves as a ballast weight, keeping the vessel grounded in windy conditions and preventing it from capsizing.

The keel is the backbone of a boat. It’s important for two reasons – it provides structural support and stability, and it also helps to stabilize the boat so that you can steer more easily.

What is the Keel of a Boat?

Keel is a longitudinal structural member of a ship or boat, running lengthwise along the center of the hull on which it is mounted and to which support structures are attached.

Why is it Called Keel?

If you’re curious about the name of this part of the ship, it’s called keel because that is where a boat or ship gets its stability and shape. The word “keel” comes from Old English cēol, Old Norse kjóll = “ship” or “keel.”

Why is Boat Keel Important?

There are many types of boats with multiple different types of keels, but all serve roughly the same purpose – to provide stability and support for the boat. For that reason, it’s important to choose a good-quality keel when you’re building your boat or ship.

What Type of Boat Keels are There?

There are many different types of keel, for different types of boats. The main three types are:

The most common type of keel is the flat plate keel, which you’ll find on almost all ocean-going vessels.

A smaller version called a “bar keel” is fitted in trawlers, tugs, and smaller ferries.

A duct keel is a clever way to provide additional buoyancy for your vessel, as well as an excellent passageway for cables and pipelines running fore-aft.

You’ll also find twin keels fitted to larger modern ships, especially cruise liners, battleships, and aircraft carriers.

How Do You Know If Your Boat Keel Needs Fixing?

Don’t let your boat keel get damaged. When the keel starts to wear out, it can cause a number of problems – including increased fuel consumption and more vibration when you’re traveling at speed. That’s why we recommend you take care of your boat by getting this problem fixed as soon as possible.

You can’t be too careful with your boat. The keel is the most important part of a boat, and it needs to be in good shape for safety reasons. While keel bolts can last for decades, they do eventually need to be replaced.

The galvanized steel in the bolt will start to rust after 15 years of service and corrode completely within 25-30 years, so it’s important to check them every five years for corrosion or wear.

Keel repair is a common solution for many types of problems. Whether your keel needs to be repaired from corrosion, grounding, or an old-fashioned lead casting problem that has been going on for years, you can count on Ship keel’s team of professionals to do the job right and get you back in the water as soon as possible.

What is the Future of Boat Keel?

Technology is taking over boat building, and it’s no different when it comes to keels. Dual keel technology is now being used on cruise ships – this allows for plenty of room in the hull so that more passengers can fit into larger, more luxurious cabins. The benefit of this type of keel design is that it can make the boat more stable in rough seas.

Do All Boats Have a Keel?

Actually, Every ship or boat that is built to travel on the water needs a keel – it’s one of its vital parts. Every vessel requires a stem, sternpost, and keel. In this sense, we can say all vessels have a keel. In traditional construction, the boat keel is the backbone of the hull. But the flat bottom boat has no keel because it has a rounded hull shape.

What’s the Difference Between Hull and Keel?

The primary difference between a keel and hull is that the keel is a structural element of the ship that extends below the waterline, while the hull is the main body of the vessel above the waterline.

Hull is used to referring to the whole structural element of the watercraft. The hull is made up of several components which include decks, framing, keel, bottom plating, etc. Keel is a longitudinal structural member of a ship or boat, on which the boat is built, on which the weight is supported.

The keel is the backbone of a boat, and it runs from the stem to the stern. The word “keel” comes from Old English, and it originally referred to the ship’s timber that extends along the bottom of the hull from front to back. In modern ships, the keel is usually made of steel or aluminum and provides structural support for the vessel.

It also helps keep the ship stable in rough waters by providing balance and resistance to wind and waves.

A boat keel is a central part of the hull that helps to reduce drag and improve stability. It also provides support for the masts and sails. The keel runs along the bottom of the hull from bow to stern.

What is a Boat Without a Keel Called?

A boat without a keel is called a flat bottomed boat. The hull of the boat is shaped like a U, and the bottom is flat. These types of boats are not very stable in the water and are not used for long voyages.

What is the Purpose of a Keel on a Boat?

The purpose of a boat keel is to provide directional stability and counterbalance the effects of wind and waves on the hull. The keel also protects the bottom of the hull from damage as it rests on the ground or trailer. In addition, many boats have keels that can be used as ballast to improve their performance in moving.

The keel is the main structural element of a boat or ship that extends along its length at the bottom of the hull. Its purpose is to provide stability and reduce rolling motion. The word “keel” comes from Old English and means “ship” or “vessel”.

In early boats, the keel was made of wood, but in modern boats it is usually made of metal. Some boats have more than one keel, such as racing yachts and catamarans. A keel provides several important functions:

1. It helps to keep the boat upright (heeled over) when there is wind blowing across the deck. This is because the keel acts like a giant fin under the water that stops the boat from being pushed sideways by the wind. 2. It provides buoyancy which keeps the boat afloat even when it is filled with water (for example, if it leaks or capsizes).

3. It gives the boat directional stability so that it does not veer off course easily in strong winds or currents. This is because the underwater part of the keel creates drag which prevents the boat from being blown away or pulled off course.

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Questions for Investigators Trying to Unravel Mystery of Luxury Yacht’s Sinking

The investigators searching for answers about the shipwreck, leaving seven dead, face questions about extreme weather and possible human error or problems with the yacht itself.

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By Alan Yuhas

More than 180 feet long, with a mast towering about 240 feet and a keel that could be lowered for greater stability, the Bayesian luxury yacht did not, in the eyes of its maker, have the vulnerabilities of a ship that would easily sink.

“It drives me insane,” Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company that made the ship, said after its wreck last week. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

But the $40 million sailing yacht sank within minutes and with fatal results: seven dead, including the British technology billionaire Michael Lynch, his teenage daughter, four of Mr. Lynch’s friends and a member of the crew. Fifteen people, including the captain, escaped on a lifeboat.

Mr. Lynch had invited family, friends and part of his legal team on a cruise in the Mediterranean to celebrate his acquittal in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

The Italian authorities have opened a manslaughter investigation, searching for answers from the survivors, the manufacturer and the wreck itself. They face a range of questions and possible factors.

An ‘earthquake’ in the sky?

When the Bayesian sank around 4 a.m. on Aug. 19, the waters in its area, about half a mile off the Sicilian port of Porticello, were transformed by an extremely sudden and violent storm, according to fishermen, a captain in the area and meteorologists.

But what kind of storm is still a mystery, compounded by the fact that a sailing schooner anchored nearby did not have its own disaster. Also unclear is whether the crew was aware that the Italian authorities had issued general warnings about bad weather the night before.

Karsten Börner, the captain of the nearby passenger ship, said he’d had to steady his ship during “really violent” winds . During the storm, he said, the Bayesian seemed to disappear behind his ship.

Severe lightning and strong gusts were registered by the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, according to Attilio Di Diodato, its director. “It was very intense and brief in duration,” he said.

The yacht, he said, had most likely been hit by a fierce downburst — a blast of powerful wind surging down during a thunderstorm. His agency put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about possible storms.

Locals have said the winds “felt like an earthquake.” A fisherman in Porticello said that he had seen a flare go off in the early-morning hours. His brother ventured to the site once the weather had calmed about 20 minutes later, he said, finding only floating cushions.

The Italian authorities have so far declined to say whether investigators had seen any structural damage to the hull or other parts of the ship.

Open hatches or doors?

The boat executive, Mr. Costantino, has argued that the Bayesian was an extremely safe vessel that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing. His company, the Italian Sea Group, in 2022 bought the yacht’s manufacturer, Perini Navi, which launched the ship in 2008.

Mr. Costantino said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, would be to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

At a news conference on Saturday, almost a week after the sinking, investigators said the yacht had sunk at an angle , with its stern — where the heavy engine was — having gone down first. The wreck was found lying on its right side at the bottom of a bay, about 165 feet deep.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

Water pouring into open hatches or doors could have contributed to the sinking, experts say, but that on its own may not account for the speed at which such a large boat vanished underwater.

Asked about the hatches at the news conference, the authorities declined to comment on whether they had been found open at the wreck.

The authorities have also not specified whether the boat had been anchored, whether it was under power at the time or whether its sails had been unfurled.

A retracted keel?

The Bayesian had a keel — the fin-like structure beneath a boat that can help stabilize it — that could be retracted or extended, according to its manufacturer. On some yachts, keels can be raised to let the large vessel dock in shallower water, and extended downward to help keep a boat level.

But like the hatches, the status of the keel alone may not explain why a large ship sank with such precipitous speed. Investigators have not disclosed what divers may have seen at the wreck, aside from saying divers had faced obstacles like furnishings and electrical wiring in tight quarters. Officials want to raise the wreck to better examine it, a process that may take weeks.

Human error?

Ambrogio Cartosio, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said at the news conference that it was “plausible” crimes had been committed, but that investigators had not zeroed in on any potential suspects.

“There could be responsibilities of the captain only,” he said. “There could be responsibilities of the whole crew. There could be responsibilities of the boat makers. Or there could be responsibilities of those who were in charge of surveilling the boat.”

It remains unclear what kind of emergency training or preparation took place before the disaster, or what kind of coordination there was during it. So far, none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened the night the ship sank.

Prosecutors said they want to ask more questions of the captain and crew, who have been in a Sicilian hotel with other survivors. They said that neither alcohol nor drug tests had been performed on crew members, and that they have been allowed to leave Italy.

Prosecutors also said they were also investigating why the captain, an experienced sailor, left the sinking boat while some passengers were still on board.

Besides possible manslaughter charges, the authorities are investigating the possibility of a negligently caused shipwreck.

The bodies of five passengers were found in one cabin, on the left side of the yacht, the authorities said. The five were most likely trying to flee to the higher side of the boat and were probably sleeping when the boat started to sink, they said.

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One of the world’s largest sailing superyachts sank in high winds off Sicily on Monday, causing the death of UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six other passengers and crew whose bodies were recovered from the wreck or from the sea.

The trip on the Lynch family’s yacht had been intended to celebrate his recent acquittal by a US jury, with 12 passengers on board, including his wife and 18-year-old daughter, and 10 crew members.

The Italian coastguard said the 56-metre, 540-tonne, British-flagged yacht Bayesian sank within minutes after it was hit by ferocious winds of 60 knots (over 110km/h) near Palermo.

The rapid sinking of such a large, modern and well-equipped yacht due to bad weather, rather than as a result of a collision, has raised concerns over marine safety as extreme weather events occur with more frequency and intensity.

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Why did the superyacht sink?

The yacht may well have been caught in a waterspout — a form of tornado — because the extreme wind speeds were recorded only in a localised area around the harbour of Porticello, where the boat was anchored about 300 metres offshore when it was struck.

Karsten Börner, the skipper of a nearby boat, told the FT that Bayesian appeared to capsize. He said he regarded the boat as unstable and his comments suggest that it could have been the combination of high winds and Bayesian’s 72-metre mast — the world’s tallest aluminium mast, according to manufacturers Perini Navi — that triggered the disaster.

Even with no sails up, a boat with a tall mast has a lot of “windage”, or surface area exposed to the wind, which can tip the vessel over in a storm. The boat may have heeled over so far that it took on water through open windows, hatches or companionways.

According to Perini Navi, Bayesian had a keel that can be lifted to reduce the draught of the boat — otherwise nearly 10 metres — for easier entrance to shallow harbours. If the keel were for some reason in the raised position rather than fully extended, that could compromise the boat’s stability in a strong wind.

Skippers of sailing yachts with exceptionally high masts typically aim to move out of harm’s way if strong winds are forecast.

Yacht designers and sailors are nevertheless puzzled by the sinking of the boat. AIS (Automatic Identification System) tracking data shows it took 16 minutes from the time Bayesian appeared to started dragging its anchor until it sank. But it is not yet known whether vulnerable hatches were open or when water started entering the boat. Italian prosecutors are investigating possible charges of manslaughter and “negligent shipwreck”.

Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini Navi, told the Financial Times that Bayesian was “absolutely safe” and said the crew should have had time to secure the boat and evacuate passengers from their cabins.

Should we blame climate change?

Climate change is likely to have been at least a contributing factor in the Mediterranean’s unsettled and sometimes violent weather this summer. The Mediterranean is a favoured cruising ground for superyachts during the northern hemisphere summer — in winter, the wealthy prefer the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean — because the weather is typically warm and sunny, and storms are rare. 

Meteorological experts have long predicted that climate change and the heating-up of oceans will help trigger more extreme weather events, including floods, droughts and more severe hurricanes.

Last week, the Mediterranean reached a median temperature of 28.9C — its highest surface temperature on record — and similar records are being broken in other seas. June was the 15th consecutive month that global sea temperatures hit a record high and forecasters predict the warmer waters may fuel an intense Atlantic hurricane season.

Will disasters at sea occur more often?

While design improvements and safety regulations have made even the smallest boats safer, the potential dangers posed by bad weather are increasing in line with the rising number of pleasure vessels at sea.

Last week, a sudden and exceptionally strong thunderstorm with wind squalls blowing at up to 53 knots (about 100km/h) swept over the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Formentera, driving several sailing and motor yachts to crash on to the shore. Among those damaged and grounded but later recovered was a luxury, 30-metre vessel made by the Monaco-based Wally Yachts .

The cause was a thunderstorm known as a “Dana”, a Spanish acronym for depresión aislada en niveles altos or isolated high-altitude depression. The bad weather also caused serious flooding in Mallorca and Menorca to the north.

How can boat makers and skippers help avoid more deaths?

The weather in the Mediterranean is often notoriously unpredictable and prone to sudden, unforecast gales — unlike the north Atlantic, where weather shifts are usually signalled days in advance by changing air pressure and cloud formations visible to the naked eye.

Safety at sea depends largely on two factors: the seaworthiness of the boat and the skill and experience of the captain and crew.

Modern boats — Bayesian was built in 2008 and refurbished four years ago — are normally built to high safety standards and equipped with electronic navigation and communications systems, as well as standard emergency gear such as life vests.

Common accidents include people falling overboard, fires on board and accidental groundings or collisions — not sinking in bad weather.

Visual and data team: Alan Smith, Aditi Bhandhari, Ian Bott and Jana Tauschinski

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Situated in a bustling arts community on the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club has been a part of the sailing community for over 100 years.

We pride ourselves in creating a relaxed private club atmosphere with a warm, friendly, family-oriented environment.  we offer a wide variety of social activities and our clubs within a club meet a plethora of special interests for our members where they can mix and mingle. , banquets & catering, community events.

What's happening at St Petersburg Yacht Club?

13 Most Popular Bilge Keel Sailboats Worth Considering

One of the main advantages of bilge keel sailboats is their ability to maintain lateral resistance, allowing them to sail close to the wind and perform well in choppy conditions. They also have two keels that provide stability and allow the boat to stand upright even when the tide goes out. If you're looking for a sailboat that can handle shallow waters and dry out on the beach, let me introduce you to 13 of the most popular bilge keel sailboats worth considering.

The 13 most popular bilge keel sailboats that are worth considering are the following: Snapdragon 747, Snapdragon 890, Snapdragon 600, Achilles 24, Westerly Centaur, Westerly Griffon, Westerly Pageant, Sadler 32, Moody 33, Westerly Konsort, Moody 346, Hunter Horizon 26, and Fisher 25.

The Westerly Konsort is a bilge keel sailboat that is known for its stability and comfort. It is a popular choice for family cruising. Let's learn more about each sailboat, including its features, specifications, and performance.

• The Snapdragon 600 is a smaller bilge keel sailboat that is known for its good performance and easy handling.
• The bilge keel design of Westerly Centaur can help reduce heeling and improve upwind performance, but it may also create additional drag and reduce overall speed.
• The bilge keel design of Westerly Konsort provides excellent stability and allows the boat to sit upright on the mud or sand when the tide goes out.
• The bilge keel of Westerly Griffon provides excellent lateral stability, which makes the boat less prone to rolling in rough seas.
• The Sadler 32 is another bilge keel sailboat designed for easy handling, even for novice sailors, with a simple rigging system and a responsive helm.

On this page:

Snapdragon 747, snapdragon 890, snapdragon 600, achilles 24, westerly centaur, westerly griffon, westerly pageant, westerly konsort, hunter horizon 26.

Below is a table summarizing why you should consider the following bilge keel sailboats:

The Snapdragon 747 is a popular bilge keel sailboat that is known for being easy to handle and comfortable to sail. It has a spacious cockpit and a cozy interior that can accommodate up to six people. The boat has a length of 24 feet and a beam of 8 feet, making it a good choice for day sailing or weekend trips.

In terms of performance, though it is not the fastest sailboat on the water, it is reliable and stable. Its bilge keels provide good stability and allow the boat to sail close to the wind, making it easy to handle in a variety of conditions. The boat's sail area is around 240 square feet, which is sufficient for most sailing needs.

The Snapdragon 890 is a bilge keel sailboat designed by Thames Marine in the 1970s. Instead of having a single keel in the center of the boat, it has two keels that are located on either side of the hull. This design allows the boat to sit upright on the ground when the tide goes out, which can be useful for coastal cruising and exploring shallow waters.

Get to understand more about bilge keel in this article.

In sailing, the Snapdragon 890 is known for being stable and easy to handle. The bilge keel design helps to reduce heeling and increase stability, which can be especially helpful in choppy or windy conditions.

The boat has a moderate sail area, with a mainsail of around 200 square feet and a genoa of around 150 square feet. This means that it can be easily handled by a small crew or even single-handedly.

Like the Snapdragon 890, the Snapdragon 600 has a bilge keel design that allows it to sit upright on the ground when the tide goes out. This can be useful for coastal cruising and exploring shallow waters. The boat has a displacement of around 2,500 lbs, making it lighter than the Snapdragon 890.

The boat has a moderate sail area, with a mainsail of around 100 square feet and a genoa of around 70 square feet so it is perfect for a small crew or even for solo sailing.

The Achilles 24 is a bilge keel sailboat that was designed by Oliver Lee in the UK in the early 1960s. Like other bilge keel sailboats, the Achilles 24 is designed to be stable and easy to handle.

The boat has a moderate sail area, with a mainsail of around 140 square feet and a genoa of around 150 square feet. One of the key features of the Achilles 24 is its spacious interior.

The boat has a large saloon area, a galley, a chart table, and a separate head compartment. It can accommodate up to four people, making it a great choice for weekend cruising or short trips.

In terms of sailing performance, the Achilles 24 is known for being a responsive and well-balanced boat. It can be easily driven by its sails and can handle a variety of wind conditions. The boat has a relatively narrow beam, which helps to reduce drag and increase speed.

The Westerly Centaur is a bilge keel sailboat that was designed for coastal cruising and has a reputation for being a sturdy and reliable boat. The bilge keel design is intended to provide greater stability and the ability to take the ground, which can be useful for exploring shallow waters and anchoring in tidal areas.

Although the Centaur is not known for being a particularly fast or performance-oriented boat, it is a comfortable and safe cruiser that can handle a variety of conditions. The bilge keels can help to reduce heeling and improve upwind performance, but they may also create additional drag and reduce overall speed.

Want to weigh the pros and cons of bilge keels ? Here's an article you might find helpful.

The design of the Centaur is fairly traditional, having a spacious interior with good headroom that can accommodate up to six people. The cockpit is also roomy and well-protected, which can make it comfortable for extended cruising.

The Westerly Griffon is a popular bilge keel sailboat designed by Ed Dubois and built by Westerly Yachts in the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1989. It is known for its stability and ease of handling.

The bilge keels provide excellent lateral stability, which makes the boat less prone to rolling in rough seas. The Griffon also has a relatively shallow draft, which allows it to access shallow anchorages and marinas that are off-limits to deeper-draft boats.

The Griffon's design is characterized by its spacious and comfortable interior, which features a large saloon, a galley, and two private cabins. The boat is also equipped with a head and shower, which makes it suitable for longer trips. The cockpit is also well-designed, with ample seating and good visibility.

In terms of features, the Griffon is equipped with a number of standard amenities, including a roller furling genoa, a mainsail with lazy jacks, and a self-tailing winch. The boat also has a variety of optional features, such as a diesel engine, a windlass, and a chartplotter.

The Westerly Pageant is a bilge keel sailboat, which means it has two keels instead of one. This design allows the boat to sit upright on the ground or on a low-tide seabed, making it easier to access shallow waters.

In terms of performance, the Westerly Pageant is known for being a stable and sturdy boat, with good handling and maneuverability. It has a moderate sail area and a relatively low displacement, which makes it a good choice for cruising and day sailing.

The design of the Westerly Pageant features a spacious cockpit and a comfortable interior with two cabins, a saloon, and a galley. The boat can accommodate up to six people, making it a good choice for families or small groups.

The Sadler 32 is a bilge keel sailboat designed by David Sadler in the 1970s. It is known for its excellent sailing performance and sturdy construction, making it a great choice for cruising and offshore sailing.

The bilge keel design allows the boat to be more stable and sail in shallow waters. The boat is also able to handle strong winds and rough seas with ease.

Despite its relatively small size, the Sadler 32 has a spacious interior that can comfortably accommodate up to six people. The boat has a large saloon area, a well-equipped galley, and plenty of storage space. The Sadler 32 is designed to be easy to handle, even for novice sailors, with a simple rigging system and a responsive helm.

The Moody 33 is a popular bilge keel sailboat designed for cruising and coastal sailing. It was first introduced in 1974 and remained in production until 1985. This boat is known for its sturdy construction, excellent performance, and spacious interior.

Since the Moody 33 has a bilge keel design, this means that the boat has two keels, one on each side of the hull, which provide excellent stability and allow it to stand upright on a hard surface. This design also allows the boat to sail closer to the wind and makes it easier to maneuver in tight spaces.

The Moody 33 has a spacious cockpit with ample seating for the crew, and the deck is designed for easy handling of sails and rigging. The boat is powered by a reliable diesel engine and has a fuel capacity of 20 gallons (76 liters).

Below the deck, the boat has a comfortable living area with a full galley, a head with shower, and sleeping accommodations for up to six people. The interior is finished in teak and offers plenty of storage space for extended cruising.

The Westerly Konsort is a popular bilge keel sailboat that was designed and built in the UK. It is a sturdy and reliable cruiser that is well-suited for coastal and offshore sailing.

One of the key features of the Konsort is its bilge keel design which provide excellent stability and allows the boat to sit upright on the mud or sand when the tide goes out. This makes it easy to explore shallow waters and anchor in tight spots.

The Konsort has a moderate displacement and a relatively low sail area, which makes it easy to handle even in rough conditions. The boat is also known for its good upwind performance and its ability to maintain speed in light winds.

It has a spacious and comfortable interior that can accommodate up to six people. The boat has a large saloon with a U-shaped seating area, a galley, and a navigation station. There are also two private cabins, one forward and one aft, as well as a head with a shower.

The Moody 346 is a popular bilge keel sailboat that was designed by Bill Dixon and built by Moody Yachts. This boat is known for its excellent performance, design, and features, making it a great choice for sailors of all levels.

In terms of performance, the Moody 346 is a fast and responsive sailboat that is easy to handle in a variety of conditions. It features a long waterline, which helps to provide excellent stability and maneuverability. The bilge keels also help to reduce the boat's draft , making it easier to navigate in shallow waters.

The design of the Moody 346 is both practical and elegant. The boat features a spacious cockpit and a comfortable interior, with plenty of room for living and entertaining. The interior is finished in high-quality materials and features a range of amenities, including a galley, a head, and sleeping accommodations for up to six people.

In terms of features, the Moody 346 is well-equipped with everything you need for a comfortable and enjoyable sailing experience. The boat comes with a range of navigation and communication equipment, as well as safety features like a life raft and safety harnesses. It also features a range of storage compartments, making it easy to stow gear and supplies.

The Hunter Horizon 26 is a popular bilge keel sailboat that was designed and built by Hunter Boats in the UK. It is a versatile and practical boat that is ideal for coastal cruising and day sailing.

It is a stable and responsive boat that is easy to handle. Its bilge keels provide good stability and allow the boat to sail in shallow waters. The boat also has a moderate sail area and a well-balanced rig, which makes it easy to control and maneuver.

In terms of design, the Hunter Horizon 26 has a classic look with a sleek and modern profile. It has a spacious and comfortable cockpit that can accommodate up to four people.

The boat's interior is well-designed and features a large saloon, a galley, and a separate head compartment. The boat also has plenty of storage space, making it ideal for longer trips.

The Fisher 25 is a classic bilge keel sailboat that was designed by Wyatt and Freeman in the late 1960s. It is a popular choice among sailors who are looking for a sturdy and reliable cruising boat that can handle a variety of weather conditions.

This boat is known for its stability and seaworthiness. The bilge keels provide excellent stability both at sea and in harbor, and the boat's heavy displacement and full keel design make it easy to handle in rough weather. The boat has a moderate sail plan that is easy to handle, and it can be sailed single-handed or with a small crew.

The Fisher 25's design is classic and timeless, with a traditional look that is both elegant and functional. The boat has a spacious cockpit that provides plenty of room for relaxing and entertaining, and the interior is cozy and comfortable, with ample storage space and a well-designed galley.

The boat is also built to high standards using high-quality materials, and it is known for its durability and longevity. The hull is made of solid fiberglass, and the deck and cabin are constructed of marine-grade plywood and fiberglass. The boat's rigging and hardware are also of high quality, and the boat is designed to withstand the rigors of offshore sailing.

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