Swapping fin keel for wing keel....????

[Alan Gomes]

The problem with this approach is it will make the boat more tender. Keel ballast is a function of both the amount of weight and the depth of the keel. Mars Metals works this out so that the sailing and safety of the boat is not compromised. That's part of the reason they charge so much. If the keel is shortened, then more weight must be added to the keel to compensate for the shorter draft. For example, as designed the fin keel version of my boat (Sabre 362) is ~200lbs lighter than the wing keel. (See Sailboatdata.com)

If the OP is going to do this, he should do it right. And doing it right is not easy and requires more than just chopping off some keel and bolting it back on.

Not to mention the fact that this will utterly destroy the resale value of the boat.

 

[TJ Strain]

“Sounds to me like you want to do this just because you want to do it.”
Nope! I’m not afraid to work my ass hard for something i want for the best reward, not compromising if i don’t have to. I’d prefer to find the wing keel vessel so i don’t have to go through all of that, but it’s a waiting game.
Maybe I’m just impatient?? Or can recognize a great deal when i see it.
Spring, summer, sorry to hear that, we sail year round here in SWFlorida. That’s why we moved here 20 years ago. You must be a slow project worker, I’m guessing maybe a week on the hard if i find a replacement wing keel and maybe two -three weeks if I’m designing and building my own wing keel. But if i find a spare fin keel that fits, i can cut, redesign, rebuild it before ever going onto the hard, for a quick exchange.

 

[dLj]

Yeap, I'm slow on projects. I spend my boating time sailing and enjoying being on the water. As you aptly point out, I have a short sailing season so I prefer to spend that short amount of time sailing and enjoying my boat. The time outside of sailing season where I can work on my boat is very limited. It's really only about a week or two depending upon how much winter we get.

Good luck to you. And certainly enjoy the year round sailing season.

dj

 

[Meriachee]

Take the 10-12k and add it to the purchase kitty. Theres a regular rotation of 320s on YachtWorld and if theres not one this week, there will be next week.

 

[dLj]

Catalina 320 boats for sale - YachtWorld

Find Catalina 320 boats for sale in your area & across the world on YachtWorld. Offering the best selection of Catalina boats to choose from.

www.yachtworld.com

There's a shoal draft Catalina 320 for $37.5k right now for sale...

dj

 

[JRT]

A 320 is a nice boat, I looked at a early 2000 model before my 310. Given the lowest advertised price on these is mid $30s, I'd hope you do a professional job and avoid any chainsaw YouTube approach and you somehow get it for 1\2 the lowest price I'm seeing. I know the frustration of depth limits, found a couple great deals but walked because of limitations.