Keels - Back to the future

[Jackdaw]

When the First 35 'replaced' the First 36.7, one of the most obvious changes were in its keel. The 367 has a deep fin, slightly swept and a slight bulb at the foot. The new 35 keel was a racy looking affair with a long thin spar and a huge T bulb.

Quite the step up for racing. Or so it seemed. The new keel for sure did better on the VPP (velocity prediction program), but in real life it was very fickle and keeping it in the groove and not stalling it was hard. So Beni listened and reworked it. The result, this more traditional looking number, that is just as fast 99% of the time and easier to sail. Cast iron upper and lead foot. If you really want the T you can order it way too.

Ah, progress!

 

[Jim21895]

I never understood why they put a bulb on that boat to begin with. The high aspect fin with bulb seems more suited to a planing boat that can use a great deal of righting momentum.

I had a bulb at the end of a 6' high aspect fin on a 22' sport boat a couple of years ago. While it really helped keep the boat flat without much hiking, it was very easy to stall and had a narrow groove. You had to really keep the boat moving forward to have any point. That was easy enough to do in light winds because the boat was so light, but I imagine it would be much harder to do in a boat as heavy as the 35.