Consider a Hunter 260 trailer sailboat. We live on south long island, where some areas are very shallow. From the spec, when swing keel is dropped, it requires 6' of water. Can you drop the swing keel "half way down"? How safe is to motor the boat out to deeper water without dropping the swing keel(love the 2' draft)? Any feedback & suggestion how you handle swing keel will be greatly appreciated.
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swing keel
The swing keel is raised and lowered via a pulley system. You can cleat off the line at any intermediate point you want. I always leave mine down when sailing. While some stability comes from the keel being down most of it comes from the water ballast tank. As long as you have that filled up you are going to be stable.
The swing keel is raised and lowered via a pulley system. You can cleat off the line at any intermediate point you want. I always leave mine down when sailing. While some stability comes from the keel being down most of it comes from the water ballast tank. As long as you have that filled up you are going to be stable.
as a matter of fact...
we have an odd launch proceedure. The admiral is not quite up to backing the boat down the ramp, nor is she confident enough yet to dock her. So I do the backing and the launch, then head to the transient slips and dock. The thing is: the slips have fingers under them which will catch the swing keel, So I cleat the keel off at about 1/2 to 2/3 down after launch and leave it there until we're all on board and heading out. still handles well.
we have an odd launch proceedure. The admiral is not quite up to backing the boat down the ramp, nor is she confident enough yet to dock her. So I do the backing and the launch, then head to the transient slips and dock. The thing is: the slips have fingers under them which will catch the swing keel, So I cleat the keel off at about 1/2 to 2/3 down after launch and leave it there until we're all on board and heading out. still handles well.
Swing Keel
The "Swing Keel" is not really a keel. It is a centerboard that only weighs about 60 lbs. It's purpose is to reduce leeway when sailing. One way to prove this is to try to maintain a straight track on a reach with the centerboard up and then drop it and notice how much better the boat tracks. Yes, it's OK to raise the centerboard, many people do it when racing downwind.
The "Swing Keel" is not really a keel. It is a centerboard that only weighs about 60 lbs. It's purpose is to reduce leeway when sailing. One way to prove this is to try to maintain a straight track on a reach with the centerboard up and then drop it and notice how much better the boat tracks. Yes, it's OK to raise the centerboard, many people do it when racing downwind.
Any amount down
I sail western Lake Erie and a river that feeds it - shallow to 3'-4' in some places. On my deck I've put 5 red electrical-tape stubs designating where the block belongs with the board fully up (22" draft), with it fully down (6' draft), and three midway positions (about 3', 4' and 5' draft). I sail with it in different positions depending on where I am on the river or bay. On the lake it's usually all the way down. As George says, the centerboard mainly prevents lee slippage when sailing. The water ballast does the most for leveling the boat. Motor with the centerboard up - I do very often when the outboard is running. With the centerboard up the boat tends to fishtail when the outboard is swung sharply in one direction or the other. When the board down a sharp motion of the outboard tends to rotate the boat around the centerboard - that same slippage prevention.
I sail western Lake Erie and a river that feeds it - shallow to 3'-4' in some places. On my deck I've put 5 red electrical-tape stubs designating where the block belongs with the board fully up (22" draft), with it fully down (6' draft), and three midway positions (about 3', 4' and 5' draft). I sail with it in different positions depending on where I am on the river or bay. On the lake it's usually all the way down. As George says, the centerboard mainly prevents lee slippage when sailing. The water ballast does the most for leveling the boat. Motor with the centerboard up - I do very often when the outboard is running. With the centerboard up the boat tends to fishtail when the outboard is swung sharply in one direction or the other. When the board down a sharp motion of the outboard tends to rotate the boat around the centerboard - that same slippage prevention.
Retractable centerboard and Rudder
The centerboard is only part of the shallow draft issue. The rudder is a whole other trip. Living on FLs west coast where sandbars are everywhere. Being able to retract the CB is a huge plus but the rudder would be totally exposed if it didn't have the ability to safely trip up when it runs out of water. There has been some discussion about how to best accomplish this but the 260 really has the best overall shallow water capability that I've seen. We will motor or even sail with the CB fully up but the rudder will not tolerate the forces of sailing unless it's fully down. So 36-40" of depth will be your limit for sailing. Otherwise just let the sails go slack and fire up the OB and head for a little more water until you can secure the rudder fully down. You'll love the boat, we certainly do. Good luck. Michael and Kelli
The centerboard is only part of the shallow draft issue. The rudder is a whole other trip. Living on FLs west coast where sandbars are everywhere. Being able to retract the CB is a huge plus but the rudder would be totally exposed if it didn't have the ability to safely trip up when it runs out of water. There has been some discussion about how to best accomplish this but the 260 really has the best overall shallow water capability that I've seen. We will motor or even sail with the CB fully up but the rudder will not tolerate the forces of sailing unless it's fully down. So 36-40" of depth will be your limit for sailing. Otherwise just let the sails go slack and fire up the OB and head for a little more water until you can secure the rudder fully down. You'll love the boat, we certainly do. Good luck. Michael and Kelli
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