SHALLOW DRAFT PROBLEMS

[troyaux]

Can anyone tell me which type of keel digs in and is harder to get off of sand.- wing or fin or full keel... If I can''t find a good 29 -30 foot centerboarder. I''ll have to go with some kind of keel but the waters here run as shallow as 4 1/2-5 feet and I don''t want to buy a boat I am afraid to sail because of grounding getting in and out of the harbor.
Troy

Nothing digs in harder than a bilge (twin)Kell. Next a wing keel digs in very hard, especially if grounded when heeled but even vertical its large flat bottom can really wedge against the bottom. Next comes a full keel which can really jamb in going forward, is hard to pivot and which can act as a ratchet if the bottom is soft preventing backing out. The rudder is often very close to the bottom of the keel on a full keel resulting a greater risk of rudder damage. The saving grace with a full keel is that you can still heel them over to get out easier than a bilge or wing keel. A fin keel is the easiest to get unstuck with the most options available but unless extremely well engineered the keel supporting structure is more like to suffer damage in a grounding.

Jeff

[ndsailor]

I just have one comment on twin keels. A couple of weeks ago myself and another twin keel boat were tied together and anchored on a single anchor. A storm blew in and spun us twice around the anchor in less than 5 minutes before a 50+ mph gust popped the anchor loose and away we went down the bay before being blown sideways onto a small island mudflat. The wind continued unabated throughout the night and all the next day until about 17:00 the next afternoon. The outside boat was floating free during this period while the inside boat held both boats off with its outside keel on the mudflat and the boats remained tied together to avoid complications and the possibly of grounding both boats in the high wind. After the wind died down, the free floating outside boat was able to pull the inside grounded boat free. If these boats had been single keel boats they would have both been blown flat on their sides, one on the mudflat, the other on top of the first, and may have suffered much damage. As it was, both boats remained on an even keel and all aboard spent a reasonably restful night with only superficial cosmetic damage to the side of the inboard boat before we positioned boat cushions between to avoid further damage., the boat fenders kept popping out., the flat cushions remained in place.

[windship]

Hey Jeff,
What are some of the more popular external ballested boats that should be avoided because of poor keel support structure?
And if I may add to your post,not just the imediate bildge area but the entire area surrounding the keel on the hull itself has to be designed and built with the intention of supporting the keel properly in order to avoid cracking and or delamination in the event of a grounding or a colision.

Dennis

[harvh]

I have grounded, (red face) several times. Once with a fin keel and once with a wing. A wing keel stnds you up like a wine glass when you go agound. You can do nothing accept waite for the tide to come in. A fin keel gives you a number of options to get off if conditions allow it.

Now I love my wing, but don''t go aground with it!