different keels

[Arjen]

Hi, looking for a boat, i find boats with different keels. More specifically, i find centerboards and the rest. I know there are different kind of others as well, but my knowledge is too limited to even really recognize that difference.

I have a kind of feeling that i don't really like centerboards. To me it doesn't sound nearly as stable as 2-3 tons of weight under a boat. Also, the idea of having a big opening that can get full of crap and a moving point sounds like a lot of opportunity for extra trouble. I would expect a centerboard boat to be much lighter and probably faster, but is it really seaworthy as well ?

Am i right in my prejudice or not ? And why ?

[Faster]

Centerboards are primarily to provide reduced draft when you need it, without sacrificing the weatherliness provided by deeper draft keel types. The centerboard slot can be a maintenance item, of course, as can the lifting pennants, hinge pins etc.

There are some seriously seaworthy CB desgns out there.....


Here's a recent discussion on keel types, incl a definitive treatise by Jeff_H:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruisi...-fin-keel.html

[Siamese]

Don't assume that centerboard boats don't always have sufficient ballast. Many have ballasted, fixed keels with acenterboard that swings out from the keel.

I agree that they are an additional maintenance hassle. I've had boats in the 20 to 22 foot range with swing keels. Here on Lake Michigan they tend to fill up with zebra mussels. Pretty tough getting in that slot with anti-fouling paint. On the other hand, they fit on their trailers very nicely.

I would not buy a centerboard boat without removing the centerboard and inspecting and possibly replacing the pin. Ignorance is not bliss.

My 31 footer has a wing keel that draws 4'4". The fin version of my boat draws 6'. I appreciate the ability to go where the water's a little skinnier, and given the reasonable performance of my wing keel, I'd certainly pass on a centerboard.

Now I sound like I've condemned all centerboard boats. 'Just saying I'd prefer not to have one. They're a valid compromise that others are comfortable with.

[CalebD]

Originally Posted by Arjen

Hi, looking for a boat, i find boats with different keels. ...
I have a kind of feeling that i don't really like centerboards. ...

Am i right in my prejudice or not ? And why ?

Then if it is your personal choice, I say run with it. I'd only ask you if you have ever sailed on many center board boats?

All boats are compromises one way or another. The under body shape or hull shape are only one of the compromises to be made.

Small dinghies like the Laser, Sunfish etc. are all centerboard boats and can be a real blast when you get one up on a plane. Most catamarans have some kind of dagger board. Bigger boats offer more hull/keel shapes each with their own positive and negative aspects with regards to sailing performance and maintenance issues.

I happen to like looking at the hull diagrams of boats and find this website helpful in guessing how the boat will perform: TARTAN 27 sailboat on sailboatdata.com
The boat I linked to is my boat which is a center board (not shown in diagram) boat but with a nearly full keel hull shape. The hull shape characteristics make my boat hold a course nicely but a bit impossible to turn on a dime like some fin keel models.
Fin keeled boats can usually point higher into the wind then we can with our full keel shape and they turn faster. The ability to turn quicker can also be a negative factor when going down wind. Some models with spade rudders are also vulnerable to grounding on the rudder and either bending the rudder shaft or breaking it off completely. Pretty rare but it has happened.

I'm not a big fan of wing keels after spending an evening on a 27' winged keel boat that grounded as the tide left us standing (on the wing keel, standing up) high and dry on the beach until the tide came back in again. Wing keels are quite popular but they are notoriously difficult to get unstuck after a grounding.
On my boat I would have pulled up the center board after the first grounding and gotten the hell out of the shallows.

It is all about choices, compromises, and what you like and know. The more different types of boats you get to sail on this idea will sink in.

[kcbillb2]

All I can say on this topic is what I've found on my boat.

I've got a Starwind 19, which is a shallow draft (18in) keelboat with a centerboard.

Now, it's great having the ballast in the keel, makes a good change from my previous boat, which have all been dinghys.

On the other hand, on more than one occasion, after leaving the harbor and sliding to leeward at a rapid pace, I've been known to say "d**n, I forgot to lower the centerboard."

Once I do that though, it's wonderful, the boat actually goes where I think I'm telling it to go.

YMMV

[killarney_sailor]

I have one of those heavy-duty CB boats and quite like it. Our board is really just for pointing ability and not for stability - the ballast is in our keel around the CB slot and is something like 7 tonnes. A sistership did a circumnavigation with the CB permanently up (not sure why they made that choice but they did). We have our CB down perhaps 25% of the time - not that we go to windward that much, just that we use the CB to balance the boat to make it easier on the vane steering. CBs are like everything else on a boat, there are advantages and disadvantages, but they are not inherently bad or unseaworthy.

[TQA]

Mine has a CB and it is extra hassle but she points better with the board down.

If I had the option I would have bought the slightly deeper fixed keel variant.

[QuickMick]

I think too, you need to ask yourself where you want to use your vessel. If you plan on running where your draft needs to be shallow, but you want the option of greater stability for going out deeper, I wouldnt rule out the centerboard set up.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by QuickMick

I think too, you need to ask yourself where you want to use your vessel.

Exactly. I live in Tampa. I sail up and down the west coast of Florida mostly, the Keys now and then, and the Bahamas when I can. With that kind of a primary cruising area (tending toward the very shallow) a centerboard gives you many WONDERFUL options that a fin keel boat just will not have.

When I have the time, I would love to sail down and through the Caribbean. Even for that, though, there are plenty of capable centerboard boats out there that I would consider. So, no, I would say you are not right in your prejudice (is a prejudice ever "right"?). It's a matter of pros and cons, knowing what you really want and/or need, and choosing the proper trade-offs for your situation.

This, however, is true of all decisions about what boat to buy. That's why the questions that run along the lines of "what is the best boat..." can have only one useful answer--it depends. It always depends on the many and various details of the particular persons needs, wants, and circumstances. And there is almost never any one "best."