[JohnRPollard]

Alan,

Let me echo Larry's comments that the 31 is plenty substantial for off-shore sailing, regardless of the keel choice. The Bahamas would be a piece of cake with either draft.

As for shoal vs. standard draft, opinions can get pretty subjective. It also depends which model boat you're looking at. For instance, a standard draft 31 has less draft then a shoal draft 40.

The drafts begin to overlap more as you compare standard and shoal versions of the 37 with the 34/31 (for all practical purposes, the 31 and 34 carry the same draft.) Also, one point I've heard mentioned repeatedly, is that the draft of the 37 is somewhat understated.

Here on the Chesapeake, we have not been hindered in any way by our standard draft 31 (4'10"). But we need minimum 5' of water. The Chesapeake is a relatively shallow cruising area, although Pamlico and Albemarle may be a bit tighter.

We get a much deeper "keel span" with the standard fin keel vs. the Scheel keel. Another thing to consider is that the Scheel keel on the 31, for instance, uses an additional 700 lbs of ballast, which is a fair bit of additional weight. And the fuel tank on the shoal draft 31 is 18 gallons vs. 23 (originally 27) on the standard draft.

Lots of variables...