How do these sail?

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RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
A friend of mine had a Tylercraft with similar bilge keels .... couldnt 'point' worth a damn, and was quite slow as you get mostly 'drag' and no 'lift to weather from the 'windward side' keel section - like dragging a big bucket through the water.
One of my boats is a large ILYA 'scow' with bilge boards (two centerboards) and I will tell you that you only want ONE board down at a time ... or 'drag'; with only one board down you can 'fly'.
 
Jan 21, 2009
260
Catalina 30 Lake Perry, KS
Bilge keels

A number of years ago Hunter built boats in England under the name of Legend. The boats built and sold were the same as those in the U.S.. They did produce a 290 version with bilge keels. One of the British sailing magazines ran an extensive side by side test between a bilge keel version and a fin keel version. The outcome was that there was very little difference, if any, between the boats on all points of sail. In short, it came down to the proficiency of the crew. Apparently a well designed twin keel boat is not all that bad. The caveat being well designed.
 
Aug 16, 2006
281
Ericson 32 Oregon coast
Some British harbors have 30 foot tides so at low tide

many boats are sitting on mud which is the reason for that. There is going to be some trade off with any configuration but for the most part they sail pretty much the same and given the circumstances it is a good trade off. Another option used there is large hydraulically operated centerboards. I rode on a 32 ft with a hydraulic centerboard and was impressed with the performance.
 
Oct 10, 2008
6
Sovereign Adventure 23 Ghost Lake
Clipper Marine out of California also built a twin keel 23 foot sailboat a few years ago which was good if you want to pull up on the sand or mud and could be good in tidal area for overnighting but they are considerably slower as mentioned because of the drag. Depends what you want to do.
 

bria46

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Jan 15, 2011
286
Oday 272 Waukegan, IL, Sarasota, FL
Bilge Keels have used for over 60 years and longer. The Westerly line of sailboats, a UK manufacturer, makes many bilge keel models. Some tidal areas have huge differances between low and high tides
 
Sep 29, 2008
1,936
Catalina 310 #185 Quantico
Interesting

MrUnix, those pictures almost make me want one. Could be it is all about the destination. :D
 
Apr 22, 2009
342
Pearson P-31 Quantico
Ray,

What is that Island in France that the tide leave high and dry every day? There are some web based pics of twiin keels there. We used to have one in Quantico as well.

Robert
 
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Feb 26, 2004
22,992
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Mont St. Michel. There's another one on the English side off Penzance, too.
 
Sep 28, 2008
922
Canadian Sailcraft CS27 Victoria B.C.
They don't have to be that much slower. When you think about it many boats with long keels or even long fins can have as much wetted surface to drag around. They generally point a few degrees off what the same hull with a fin keel would.

I have owned 2 twin keel boats. The first was a Westerly 25 (that is a Westerly Nomad 22' in the opening post) and they were the largest of many UK twin keel boat builders, and as posted you still have a choice of twin keel boats new in the UK. The second was a 35' designed locally. Both were good boats for cruising although for racing not as good. Neither is an Alberg 30 or similar a good racer really.

There are performance boats with twin keels as well.

First pic is a Westerly 25 and the second an RM, built in France and not exactly a slug. here's a link to RM Yachts.
http://www.rm-yachts.com/contenu/,home,1
 

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