Keel or centerboard?

[Desert Sky]

We are ready to buy a Catalina 250. We are confused. We will spend time eventually cruising the coastline of the Sea of Cortez. We are fair weather sailors and want to stay close to shore. I like the room in a wing keel, Greg, wants to be able to get us and our dog in close to shore. Will the extra depth of a wing keel make that much difference?Help!! We have a deposit on a wing keel and we know where to find a great waterballest. Any suggestions?Desert Sky

 

[Erik]

Have you tried...?

There is a Cat 25/250 forum on the Trailer Sailor website. The URL is http://trailersailor.com/forums/catalina25/Check it out, as many 250 sailors are there. The C-250 would be one of my top choices for a larger boat (I have a Capri 18), and it would be a tough choice between WK and WB. The WK cabin is much roomier. The WB boat is beachable (gotta add a kick-up rudder) and easier to launch and recover. That's a big factor if you're trailering a lot. There is also a C-25/250 Association website.

 

[Dave]

Go for the wing

Having owned a swing keel boat I will never go back to one again. There isn't that much difference between the depth of the wing and swing fully retracted - maybe 6". But there is a world of difference in the security of a fixed keel not to mention the swing keel is a maintenance headache. There are lots of 'disaster' stories about swing keels. Dave C25 FK

 

[Erik]

250 WK vs WB on trailer

If you look at a 250 WK on a trailer, you'll see that it sits much higher than the WB-centerboard boat. The WB boat is also much lighter (by about 1000 lbs). The centerboarded 250 WB is not really a *swing keel* boat. A true swing keel boat has most (all?) of its ballast in the swing keel. The 250 WB's centerboard is just a fiberglass board, not a cast iron swing keel. The 250 WK *can* be launched via a boat ramp, but the WB boat is much easier to ramp launch.

 

[Mark M.]

More info here

I have some information on my website that may be of interest to you: http://www.texassailor.com/lorelei.htmYou might especially look at the "Photo Gallery" and scroll down to the "How about a few comparisons" link.

 

[Gary]

Dave is mistaken

Dave was somewhat in error in his suggestion. There is NO swing Keel Catalina 250. There is a wing keel shoal draft, and there is a centerboard model. The centerboard is a water ballast, with a center board which only weighs about 100 lbs. Not the 7-800 pound keel like on the Catalina 25. I have a 1995 water ballast, centerboard unit, and the only problem i've ever heard of is a few centerboard cables have jumped the track and needed to either be replaced or repositioned. Not a big deal.