Swing Keel on a Cruising Boat

[Jim H]

Thanks for the exchange about aluminum boats. We looked at an OVNI 36 in our marina on Saturday, and I'm still impressed by how rugged and non-nonsense they are, but the overall design is very modern. The stepped, scoop stern and arch, for example, is very impressive.

If we have time, we might look at some used OVNIs as they come on the market. If things in the bilge cause corrosion problems, I'm certain that's its happened to someone else already. The authors in the Aluminum boat design link above say these claims are exaggerated, and they had "a coin" sit in their bilge for years that did nothing (perhaps because of the OVNI paint).

One other thing-- even new OVNIs are priced surprisingly well for a cruiser of its size. There are also compromises, but having a newer boat isn't always a bad idea. As we think about possible cruising areas, including Senegal and rivers with lots of shifting sand banks, the idea of a swing keel becomes more appealing.

[sailaway21]

Jim,
I am not familiar with swing keels other than the one on my "mighty" Cal 21 (wished I'd come up with that one!). My keel is basically designed to be lowered and left there. It's not that difficult to rig the hoisting tackle and raise it and I'd certainly do so for serious gunkholing but, it would be a pain to sail it regularly with that gear rigged, though some do. I'd probably be motoring with it raised or partially raised.

My point being that I think you'd want a keel that can be easily raised in all conditions and that you will probably find that you want to raise it only to the extent you need for shallow water. It will cut down on the amount of leeway you make substantially...and my boat can make some serious leeway with it raised! If the boat is capable of being sailed with the keel retracted completely more's the better. The Southerly does not have any type of stub keel, as is my boat, and I'd be curious as to how she sails with minimal keel lowered. I'm guessing that full keel up is intended for motoring only.

Thoughts?

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

Thoughts?

Both the OVNI and the Southerly have hydralic systems for raising/lowering the keel (and manuCal backups). The OVNI is more like a centerboard.

Check out this link for the Shards discussion of how they sail with the keel:

After 5000 miles | None | Distant Shores

Bascially, they can sail with the keel at different heights, but so far they most like to have it all the way down at sea (nine feet) because they find the motion of the boat more comfortable. They do raise it some downwind. In marinas, they different heights for different docking manuevers, including letting the keel take the bottom like a parking break, and then lifting it.

I believe that Jimmy Cornell sailed his Ovni like a dinghy with the centerboard at different settings. He liked to use the center board as a depth sounder in shallow bays, lifting it when needed.

[Leither]

Although I don't yet have a lot of experience with it, my Morgan 30 has a centreboard. It has a substantial keel, but with less than 4' draft it is excellent for gunkholing (ideal here on the Chesapeake Bay). The boat sails well with the centreboard up, but lowering it definitely improves ability to point up and, of course, reduces leeway.

I know that there are maintenance issues with this arrangement and the lifting gear on mine is going to need some work next season (which I expect to be a challenge!). However, as far as I can tell this would be the first major work on the lifting gear in the boat's 37 year life, so it seems to have lasted well......

Stuart

[Jim H]

I once looked at a Pearson 35:


It obviously has a centerboard, but it wouldn't be a boat to beach to dry out (unless you careened it).

I think your Mogan 30 is similar:


I also thought about a Tartan 37 with centerboard, but I noticed in the story of Tigger, a Tartan 37 that circumnavigated, that the owners simply glassed the centerboard up into the raised postion at one point because it caused more problems than it solved. Some have systems that fail, and others rattle quite a bit, etc.

By comparison, this is what parking an Ovni or Southerly might look like:




Hopefully, a newer boat like the Southerly or Ovni wouldn't have problems for awhile. Good luck with the Morgan-- she's a classic.

[WouldaShoulda]

Those are something!!

But I don't like swing keels on Catalina 22s so what do I know??

[tommays]

I still have bad memories of using a handsaw to get boards free that barnacles had stuck in the up position

[Giulietta]

Jim..OVNI here in cascais..want photos?

Alex

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by Giulietta

Jim..OVNI here in cascais..want photos?

Alex

Thanks, Alex. I noticed one was in Portugal, but if it's this one:

2006 Alubat Ovni 435 Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

I might have a hard time raising the funds...

On Wednesday night we're going to hear Jimmy Cornell speak at the Cruising Association. He's moved on to a new boat, so it might be a good time to hear/ask his opinions again about the Ovni stability index numbers, the corrosion/paint questions, and the buying new vs. used question.

Our next steps might be to see if they display again at the London boat show. We've also heard there is one for Charter out of Southampton we could try if we got serious.

It's funny how I find the boats attractive, in a business-like sort of way:



Meanwhile, I'm hearing of price drops/discounts on other new boats, which could also affect the used market.

You should put in a bid on the one in Cascais.

[Valiente]

Jim. I have a steel boat and am in the process of learning the things any metal boat owner learns.

Aluminum has issues, of course, but they can be overcome. OVNI are among the most proven bluewater cruisers around, as are some custom steel jobs like Knox-Johnson's Suhaili, Pelagic, Moitessier's Joshua and so on.

They aren't always stylish, however...but that is not a big concern for the type of sailing they do.

I choose boats the same way I choose computers or tools: what do I wish to accomplish with them? If you want independence from shore, you go for a "systems" boat that has engine room access, tankage, arches, sail stowage, redundancies on redundancies, anchors out the wazoo, sea berths and probably few nods toward "gracious sailing".

If you want to do the coastal or the Caribbean thing, a production boat is great...and a swing keel production boat is better.

If you want to do distance sailing, fast sailing, and to have shore independence, and thin-water access plus the "safety feature" of being able to conceivably beach the boat without wrecking it, you narrow the list of possibles very quickly.

Mr. Cornell might be very interesting for you to speak with, because he's had plastic, steel and aluminum boats and moved gradually from "bulletproof" and "heavy" to "fast but metal", possibly the smallest percentage of boats made today.

Good luck.