I have a 1983 Lancer 44 that has two Perkins 85 hp motors and an unusual flybridge. When I bought her in 2015, the 52' mast was down and having been berthed in Little Rock, Arkansas, we kept it laid along the port catwalk in order to clear river bridges on the way to the Gulf. We left Little Rock this past June, heading for the Keys > Bahamas > Caribbean and have since discovered that she gets pretty good fuel mileage and, since stepping the mast and redoing the rigging would cost over $5k, we decided to forego sailing and got rid of the mast. At any rate, this boat was set up with a boomless rig and her main traveller was located at the back of the flybridge.
One thing that has puzzled me is that these boats are described as being able to reach planing speeds, but my engines running at 1500 rpm only reach @ 7.5mph in slack water.
I do have one question, though. Since she now lacks a mast, the heavy keel seems to cause her to roll excessively. I'm wondering if its feasible/advisable to shorten the keel by a couple of feet. She currently draws 6' which has caused us untold aggravation.
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