bahamas?

[troyaux]

I am looing for imput as to a good boat for the bahamas 27-30''. I have a magregor 25 now and I cannot sail well with the iron swing keel up and need 6'' to drop it down... If all the bahamas are shallow then I don''t want this same pronlem in my next boat as I could only sail well across the gulf streem to get there..

Does anyone have experience of what is better for the bahamas or the keys? A shoal draft fixed or an movable keel? what drafts would work and what boats in this size fit the bill?
I need to spend under $17,000 total

[scnicklefritz]

troy, You should have no problem sailing accross the bahama banks with 6'' of draft.
The beauty of a swing keel is that it will pop up once you hit something, either a coral head or a sand bar, as long as it''s not held in the down position. You can always lower the keel to the 5'' or 4'' foot depth, and still make decent headway as needed. In water that shallow in a breeze, you might not want to sail anyway due to the wave action in shallow water???? You would probably be motoring at that time.