5'3" draft?
Hi I'm a little new to sailing, but was involved in a detailed conversation about this very subject, just a couple of days ago. Seems that the deep draft boat is able to sail closer into the wind because of the larger, and therefore more effective keel than the shallower draft boats. The greater weight of the keel improves the boat overall stability. Seems also that when the wing keel boats run aground they tend to be totally stuck, whereas the fin keels can often power/cut through the bottom....of course rocks don't give way as well as sand or mud bottoms. I have been concerned myself about the 5'3" draft of my Catalina 30, based here in the relatively shallow water of Naples Bay. At tides lower than one foot above mean low tide I'm on the ground at dock....I can tug and pull via lines from shore and drag the boat to slightly deeper water away from the dock and get out at 1 foot above, but below that it is hopeless....and I had become concerned about damage to the boat and keel when the boat list as much as 30 degrees on a moon low tide at .8 below mean low. I've solved this the best I can by tying the mooring lines in such a way that the boat leans on the pilings of the dock with only a 5 degree list using bungie cords to hold it close the the dock and still allowing enough streach to make room for the 4 foot tide range. Even so there there is only about 20 lbs of pressure on the dock. My boat is a very good sailing boat. I have sailed on an apparent wind from 25 degrees of the bow, in 8 foot seas with ease in 25 knot winds under full sail, on 25 degrees of heal. I've concluded that even with the extra care I need in shallow water, I would not trade my long keel for a shallower draft at the cost of sailing stability. Russ
