320 Fin vs Wing Keel

[Fiddler's Green]

My wife and I are looking for a new boat and the Catalina 320 is on the short list. We looked at two over the weekend, one with the fin keel and one with the shoal draft wing keel. I'm wondering what if any performance hit the wing keel sufferers? Can the wing keel point as close to the wind?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[Ted]

The wing keel won't point as well as the fin keel but will be pretty close. PHRF rating differential vary 6-12 seconds a mile between these two keel configurations, with the fin keel being the lower rating. On the plus side, the wing keel will get you back to the clubhouse bar quicker when you cut the corner by sailing in skinnier water.

 

[Calif. Ted]

I'm sure I'm prejudiced but if your concerned about getting the most performance in a 320 I'd recommend one with a fin keel and conventional main.

 

[LakeOntario270]

Are you planning to run aground or not? I'm guessing Puget Sound has deep water but in places like Florida you would want the shallow draft. Unless you are a hard core racer I doubt you would see a difference.

 

[Gene S]

The sound has deep water and you can almost always count on the wind going north or south. I'd go for the fin keel for pointing ability.

 

[Fiddler's Green]

Thanks for all the input! No, LakeOntario, I'm not planning to run aground... And, yes, the Puget Sound is deep and well charted for the most part. My main reason for asking was because I was set on getting a boat with a fin keel because, while this boat will just be cruised, I'm a racer at heart so don't want to take a big performance hit on my cruiser. The big problem is that of the two 320s we saw, the wing keel boat was the nicer, more attractive possibility so it got me wondering just how important the fin keel would be...

 

[Kings Gambit]

Thanks for all the input! No, LakeOntario, I'm not planning to run aground... And, yes, the Puget Sound is deep and well charted for the most part. My main reason for asking was because I was set on getting a boat with a fin keel because, while this boat will just be cruised, I'm a racer at heart so don't want to take a big performance hit on my cruiser. The big problem is that of the two 320s we saw, the wing keel boat was the nicer, more attractive possibility so it got me wondering just how important the fin keel would be...

Evidently, the winged keel version of a model that also offers a fin keel option will probably have a higher PHRF rating of 3, to perhaps 6, sec/mile. True, boat for boat, the winged keel will lose performance relative to the fin keel going upwind, but in a PHRF race with different ratings one should not automatically expect to finish behind the fin keel version on corrected time. [See Ted above for similar comment.] Also, on a 20 n.mi. cruise to destination up wind, you might arrive a whole minute or two later than on a fin version. Downwind--who knows--maybe a minute sooner! Get the sweet boat that tickles your fancy and go!

 

[Solstice]

Another thing to consider is resale. On the East Coast, where the water tends to be skinny, the overwhelming preference for cruisers is shoal draft. I am a former racer and the first non-racing boat I purchased was a 320 wing. Talk to the broker; if he/she is honest they will tell you if this is an issue in your area. I know of two situations here in NE where a very nice C-350 sat on the market for a very long time because she had a fin keel and another 320 with a similar story. OTOH I know a sailor in Michigan who swapped his wing for a fin because he was primarily racing the boat.

No question you will lose upwind performance with a Wing, but not that significant. Just something else to consider....