Beneteau 31 (2008 and newer)

[SawWhet]

What difference in pointing is there on a Benateau 31(2008 +) equiped with a standard deep keel versus the optional fixed shole keel?

[tommays]

While i cant comment on that boat ,in general the deep keel will perform MUCH better if you can live with the draft

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by tommays

While i cant comment on that boat ,in general the deep keel will perform MUCH better if you can live with the draft

Absolutely agree, I encourage buying as deep a keel as you can live with. if you NEED shallow draft, IMHO get one of the centerboard designs, then at least you get some off-wind performance benefit for the price of the tenderness.

[bacampbe]

I own a 2009 Bene31 with the deep keel. While I can't compare it to the shallow model, it does go to weather much more nicely than our previous shoal keel boat. It is a fair bit lighter than the shallow keel version, as the shallow one has to make up for leverage with ballast.

It's telling to me that the deep keel is standard for the 31 but an option for some of the larger Benes.

OTOH, it really depends on where you plan to sail it. On my lake, the additional area I could cover with the shallow keel and couldn't go with the deep keel is very small.