Shoal vs Fin Keel

[kwilson1033]

I am looking at two Catalina 320's here in the Northwest. One has a shoal keel and the other a regular fin keel. The owners of the fin keel boat are asking $10000 more than the shoal keel boat (both boats are pretty comparable - age, motor, electronics, condition, sails, etc) I like both boats but my concern comes from comments I have read on line that shoal keel boats are more tender than those with a fin keel. Heeling is not one of my wife's favorite things so I was wondering how does this play out on the 320s. Is there quite a bit of difference or little. Is it worth the extra money? We have no problems with depth in the NW so that is not really a concern. I would appreciate any help.
Thanks

 

[planelucky2]

My previous boat was a 320 with a wing keel. It was an excellent boat and either would be a great choice. Although I have no direct sailing comparison between the two, I somehow recall that a wing keel on that boat is about 10% heavier than the fin keel so I am not sure there will be a big difference in heeling. Clearly you will get better pointing with a fin keel, but it may or may not make much of a difference depending on how you intend to use the boat.

At $10,000 more and my understanding of the used boat market for the 320, you could be paying a 10% to 20% premium for the fin keel. My sense is that the extra costs are not worth it given the nominal difference in heeling. Sail management and weather tracking will be more useful in controlling your heeling. I would put the $10,000 into upgrades or just pocket the difference. I am sure you know this, but I would use the wing keel price as negotiating leverage with the fin keel boat.

Good luck!

 

[Big Windy]

$10k for a fin makes no sense at all! As noted above, you can control the amount of heel in a number of different ways. The fin will point a bit higher (not $10k higher) and weighs in at 4,000 compared to the wing's 4,400.