I understand that this is an anecdotal experiment and not scientific in any way, but I want to share my experience between the same boat with two different keels.
I grew up/spent 25 years sailing on a Catalina 30 with a shoal keel which drew 4'6". I was very used to how she handled and what her characteristics were. I can't say I liked them or hated them as that was my primary experience and just knew how she handled.
Now, my wife and I own a different Catalina 30 but this one has a "deep" keel that draws 5' 6". I know that 1 foot doesn't sound like much of a difference, but in the short time we've been out sailing with her the difference in handling characteristics is amazing to me. The new boat feels much more balanced and seems to track easier and straighter as compared to the last boat. Even my wife who is not much of a sailor "yet" (she's taking an ASA 101 course soon), commented that she absolutely loves steering this boat under sail much more than the last one as it sails easier and doesn't make her work as hard.
I used to think that keel depth doesn't matter and that I'd rather have the shallower keel so that I could gunk hole in more places, but as of this minute if I had to choose a new boat with a deep keel or shoal/wing keel I would sacrifice the ability to anchor in skinny water and keep the handling characteristics of the deeper keel.
What are your experiences with different depth keels and how they effect the handling of the boat?
I grew up/spent 25 years sailing on a Catalina 30 with a shoal keel which drew 4'6". I was very used to how she handled and what her characteristics were. I can't say I liked them or hated them as that was my primary experience and just knew how she handled.
Now, my wife and I own a different Catalina 30 but this one has a "deep" keel that draws 5' 6". I know that 1 foot doesn't sound like much of a difference, but in the short time we've been out sailing with her the difference in handling characteristics is amazing to me. The new boat feels much more balanced and seems to track easier and straighter as compared to the last boat. Even my wife who is not much of a sailor "yet" (she's taking an ASA 101 course soon), commented that she absolutely loves steering this boat under sail much more than the last one as it sails easier and doesn't make her work as hard.
I used to think that keel depth doesn't matter and that I'd rather have the shallower keel so that I could gunk hole in more places, but as of this minute if I had to choose a new boat with a deep keel or shoal/wing keel I would sacrifice the ability to anchor in skinny water and keep the handling characteristics of the deeper keel.
What are your experiences with different depth keels and how they effect the handling of the boat?