external lead keel

[bigsarg1]

I was wondering which boats have external lead keel? I have read about the valiant 40. Does this type of design create a better sailing vessel? Or, does it make it worse?

[paulk]

Most cruising sailboats built in the U.S. have external lead keels. Some use external cast iron, though it is less dense than lead. Some people prefer internal ballast. There are upsides and downsides to both internal and external ballast. Until you hit something, it doesn''t make much difference.

[bigsarg1]

thank you, can you give manufactuer names for the US boats w/.external lead keels?

[sailortonyb1]

Catalina uses external lead keels.

[Irwin32]

Most manufactures go for external keels. Hunter and Catalina certainly are and I beleive Tartan. Generally most fin keeled boats areexternal. Full keelers, especially fiberglass ones, tend to be internal. There are, of course, always exceptions. Some of the older wood full keelers used to have external ballast.

Like everything else, there are pros and cons. Internal means no keel boats to deal with, no joint to mess with. External is easier to repair in a hard grounding.

[sailortonyb1]

I think you may be slightly off track. Select the boat that you want for various other reasons and just take the keel it comes with. When i purchased my previous boats, the only keel question that i had was whether it was a shoal keel or not. The condition and reputation of the boat is a whole lot more important than the internal/external configuration of the keel.
I think that in the long run, the internal keel could be much more problematic, however if i wanted a particular model that only came with an internal, i would still buy that boat. The internal/external thing should be so far down on the priority list as to things i want in a boat as to not even
make a difference in my decision.
Good luck in whatever you select.
Tony B

[sailingfool]

I personally can''t agree that internal/external is not an important choice. If you sail anywhere where there are rocks under water, you are subject to eventually (if not regularly) hitting something hard.

If you hit a rock with an external keel, you may end up with a divot in the metal you need to fill before the next launching. No big deal, simply BAU.

If you hit a rock with an internal keel, the impact may expose the internal keel ballast and allow water ingress, leading to delamination...or not. One way or another a significant risk that must be quickly and properly attended to.

Why take the risk, there''s enough to worry about in boating... Get a nice lead fin, well atttached to an all glass hull and you won''t need to worry about the routine mistakes most of us do make...

Good luck.

[nquigley]

If you've ever had a cast iron keel, you'll know how much trouble they can be to stop/repair rust bubbles. Yeah, you can prep the exposed metal really well, quickly cover it with an epoxy barrier coat, then antifouling, but the scourge always comes back. I'm SO never having an iron keel again.
C&Cs also have lead keels (external)