Draft dodger

[degas]

I have experience with a swing keel (Mariner 19) and fixed full-draft fin keels (Tanzer 7.5 and Tanzer 29), all on the Great Lakes(ish).

I never really took advantage of the Mariner's cast iron swing keel as far as gunkholing. One season with a low water level, I forgot about a submerged rock. The keel banged along pretty loudly but the boat and keel were otherwise indifferent. I could easily trailer the boat on a near-stock powerboat trailer, which was also a super convenient off-season cradle. The leaking-is-normal pivot bolt was a fussy pain.

The Tanzers have conventional fin keels, 5-5.25 feet, exterior cast iron attached with bolts. Most of the good anchorages in the Great Lakes are sufficiently deep. One time I grounded on a sandbar and was able to motor off with the crew and me hanging off the side. Otherwise, knock on wood, I haven't gotten intimate with rocks (yet) on my T29, but we've all heard stories.

I'd guess about 1/3 of the keels I see on the Great Lakes are shoal draft especially for bigger boats, say > 35 feet. I've heard of a few deep fin keels, > 6 feet, get stuck in weeds or mud towards the end of the season. In my case, at haulout the crane is at the shallow end of the marina. The water is barely deep enough but the weeds slow me down to where I'm at half throttle or more to reach a leisurely crawl.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

What others have in their particular area of sailing has little to do with where you plan to sail. That makes the difference. How and where do you wish to sail?
If you are doing some ocean passage making, then you want a boat designed to withstand the severe conditions you may run into. If you are doing coastal cruising, then you don't necessarily need a boat built for the North Sea. Draft of the keel has a lot to do with how skinny the waters you will be in. If in the Bahamas or Florida (especially the Gulf side), then you want to have a shallower draft keel. Running the Intracoastal waterway has limits to keel depth. Gunkholing in shallower water needs a shallower keel. I have a lot of experiencing sailing on a 47' ketch in Florida and the Bahamas with a 6'6" draft. We were OK most of the time, but on occasion we had to wait for high tide to get into some places. 5'6" draft would have been better. I've been on 7'+ drafted boats in Florida and we bumped a lot and had issues when the tides rolled out. There are a lot of boats designed for offshore cruising, of which Bob Perry designs are considered some of the best, His keels are shallow for the most part with exception of a few racing designs he's drawn and you don't want to cruise those designs. J/Boats makes some great performance cruisers designed for serious off shore work with deep keels, which are fine in deeper waters. You'll get there faster and will point higher. They do have a few retractable models, but really are for inland and coastal cruising and they do offer shoal keels for sailing in shallower waters. Obviously, if you want to race, pointing is important. So a deeper keel is best. There are many, many designs out there for various purposes and many have retractable keels for when in shallow waters. But, there is so much more to consider when sailing off shore. First a boat built to with stand severe conditions. Fuel and water capacity for longer distances off shore. Inboards adequate for the task. Interiors to accommodate live aboard conditions. Cockpits designed for safe, comfortable off shore sailing. Sail plans and sail handling equipment. Electronics. The list goes on and on.

 

[pgandw]

Can't imagine sailing the North Carolina sounds and creeks without a centerboard. Or trailering for that matter. But there are those who manage. Love my Stuart (ODay) Mariner 19 with the composite centerboard and inside ballast (and Ruddercraft rudder). Runs right up on the beach, as easy to launch and retrieve as a similar size power boat.

Only difficulty is it will skid sideways with the board all the way retracted (just like some of the shallower bottom power boats). And you have to watch overhead clearance as well as depth of water when you get in the shallow stuff.

There is a special joy in floating in a foot of water. And sailing in 2-4 ft of water, depending on much board I want.

Fred W
Stuart (ODay Mariner) Sweet P

 

[Hayden Watson]

I sail in the Salish Sea in the Pacific NW where we have deep water, rock islets or exposing tidal flats. If I am in water that is shallow enough to make my choice of keel an issue, I am already in trouble no matter what my draft is.

Very happy with my fine keel and 5'-5" draft.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I'd guess about 1/3 of the keels I see on the Great Lakes are shoal draft especially for bigger boats, say > 35 feet. I've heard of a few deep fin keels, > 6 feet, get stuck in weeds or mud towards the end of the season. In my case, at haulout the crane is at the shallow end of the marina. The water is barely deep enough but the weeds slow me down to where I'm at half throttle or more to reach a leisurely crawl.

This happened at my yard. I'm not sure if it was the boat with the 9' keel but it wouldn't surprise me. It created an enormous backlog as it was stuck in front of the mast stepping crane. I had to get a transient slip (at the yard's expense) for two weeks