Swapping Keels
Rob I have no experience personally. I do know that this is not a trivial upgrade. To be sure a different keel will support your desire for a more seakindly boat, I would buy a few hours of a naval architects' time. Wouldn't it be nice to chat with C. Raymond Hunt about your question (someday we will all be able to...lets hope so anyways...8^). They would be able to judge best the behaviour of the boat with a differently designed keel. I'm sure there are a few in Chicago, but Hunt and Associates are in Boston (www.crhunt.com). Buying a one off keel is expensive, and would be a difficult, but not impossible task to install correctly. Since your boat is a late model year and still has a good value the upgrade may be worth it to you. If it was an older model the cost would likely exceed the value of the boat. I would contact the nice folks at Mars Metals, in Burlington Ontario. They are a highly respected designer and builder of many of today's production boat keels, and do custom work like you desire. The link is included below.
