Trailering and Launching a Wing vs Swing Keel

Benny17441 · Apr 1, 2016

The lack of maintenance and stability provided by a wing keel is worth any additional effort in launching and retrieving. Ramps are rated by effective length and the slope of the incline. To launch a sailboat with a fixed keel a long and steep ramp is preferable but there are ways to get around it. A concrete ramp may or may not have a drop off at the end. Obviously a short one with a drop-off at the end is not any good but a short one with a continued gradual slope and somewhat solid dirt bottom might be just fine. For shallow ramps find a boat trailer with a tongue extension (pretty common pairing with fixed keel trailer boats). This tongue extension will allow to push the trailer further back until the boat floats. Others are successful in pushing a regular trailer down a ramp by disengaging it from the vehicle and tying a strap to it so that it can be retrieved. Do your homework on the ramps around the lake to find out those that are usable, look for a boat with a trailer that has a tongue extension and by all means choose a boat with a fixed keel. There are some trailer boats with a short fixed keel and a centerboard combo. A centerboard is not ballasted and the associated maintenance is much less intensive than that of a ballasted swing keel. Look at the Precision line of boats.

Flamingo1 · Apr 1, 2016

I have a fixed keel and it requires chocking the wheels, attaching a tow strap and then driving forward until tow strap is fully extended - then removing chocks and allowing the trailer to back down the ramp until fully submerged and boat floats free. It's a bit more work, but it isn't as hard as it sounds. A tongue extension would have to be 30 feet long to work - and the amount of torque and other complications of a tongue extender made a tongue extender not feasible. I would not shy away from the wing keel just because of launching or retrieving.

watercolors II · Apr 1, 2016

The lower the hull on the trailer the easier to launch and especially retrieve back on to the trailer. As stated, putting the boat back on the trailer is the hard part! So, when looking at sailboats I recommend measuring from the ground up to the water line on the hull, some boat just sit very high because of the trailer configuration. The Catalina 22’s have a stripe along the lower part of the hull and the water line in the water would be about 1 inch below this line. My 22 is 41 inches to this line at the trailer axle to the ground, the hull is as low as it can sit on this trailer and I have to back into the water till the rear bumper is wet to put the boat back onto the trailer. Different ramps have different slopes so, my vehicle would have to be placed at different depths on other ramps.

At an average ramp slope, I would figure almost 1 foot into the water for each inch of height on the trailer. My trailer axle is about 31 feet from the water edge at a man made lake, the ramp would be steeper than at a natural lake from my experience.

As these fellows have stated, the biggest problem is the length of the ramp. When power boaters put their hulls on the trailer, they gun the engine to help slide the hull up the slopping trailer, over many times and many seasons this prop wash pushes the lake bottom away from the very end of the paved ramp and creates a hole for you to back or drop the trailer wheels into. With the weight of the boat on the trailer even a 4 wheel drive vehicle cannot pull it out on a wet smooth ramp.

All keels have to be maintained, I did my keel 23 years ago for the first time, it sits at a dock for 6 months a season on a Pennsylvania lake. I bottom paint my hull every 2 to 3 years with a little touch up on the keel and I re-finished this keel 3 years ago.

Gene Neill · Apr 1, 2016

TortolaTim said:
I'm looking to finally pull the trigger this spring and get a trailerable C22. I know that a swing keel will work fine for me, but I don't want to limit my options by eliminating wing keels either, but am a little concerned about launching. Is there any big difference or added challenge in launching the wing keel? I'm driving a Dodge Durango with factory towing package, so I know weight will not be a problem, I'm just concerned about how much farther down the ramp I'll have to back down to float the boat. The low maintenance aspects of the wing keel are appealing, but I'm concerned that most of the ramps up here are designed for fishing boats. Anyone have any experience or advice regarding my situation? Thanks in advance for any help.

The wing keel has 6" more draft than the swing, so as stated above, you'll have to back about 6' further down the average ramp than you would with a swing keel, depending on the how steep the ramps are in your area. I'm guessing you'll ALWAYS need a trailer tongue extension, and sometimes even that will not be enough, and you'll have to use the rope method mentioned above. Whereas, with a swing keel, you'll only need to use an extension about 50% of the time, and almost never a rope. The flip side is, with a wing keel, you'll never have to endure the epic PITA of removing the keel and refurbishing it.

"CaptDon" has been launching a wing keel C22 all over the United States for many years, and will probably chime in eventually, but he's out sailing on a mega-yacht this week so you'll have to be patient.

EditorC22NSA · Apr 1, 2016

TortolaTim-
I have owned a wing keel (#14411) and currently own a swing keel (#15582). The wing actually has 10 inches more draft than a swing keel. The draft of the wing keel is 2ft-6in (30 inches) and draft of swing keel (up) is 1ft-8in (20 inches). A lot depends on the slope of your launch ramp. Some are shallow, some are steep. Regardless of ramp slope, a wing keel may require you to put your tow vehicle deeper into the water, or use a tongue extension. You are more likely to need a tongue extension to pull a wing keel out, than you are to launch it. A tongue extension on a wing keel is a must-have to help keep the coupler out-of-the-water (rust prevention). Good luck!

sdstef · Apr 1, 2016

I just launched my H28 with my F-150 crewcab a few weeks ago. No trailer extension, wing keel, did not even get the bumper wet.

Gene Neill · Apr 1, 2016

EditorC22NSA said:
I have owned a wing keel (#14411) and currently own a swing keel (#15582). The wing actually has 10 inches more draft than a swing keel. The draft of the wing keel is 2ft-6in (30 inches) and draft of swing keel (up) is 1ft-8in (20 inches).

I'm just curious: how the heck do you measure the precise draft of your boat(s)?? I was just going by published specs. I have had depth readings as low as 2.1' without grounding, but then again, the transducer IS located well below the waterline (which I never thought about before this moment), giving a little more breathing room.

That extra 4" is actually a lot! I'd like to know if my draft is the same as yours. I'm thinking that since my new design weighs about 600 lbs more than your Sport, probably not.

EditorC22NSA · Apr 1, 2016

Gene, Catalina 22 draft specs are per a Sport & Mk-II brochure published by Catalina Yachts from a few years back. I would not be surprised if different Catalina 22 brochures published at different times have different specs for same boat...have seen it before...especially for published Catalina 22 weight.

watercolors II · Apr 2, 2016

With the boat and trailer sitting on level ground find the lowest point of the hull at the keel while cranked up as high as it will go. Align a board with bottom of the cranked up keel at the lowest part of the hull and make sure it is level. Measure down from the waterline to the level board indicating the bottom of the keel.

Drinkmilk · Apr 4, 2016

I have an '86 swing keel. She requires 3' depth minimum 15' from the water's edge to float off the trailer. I usually float her back on the trailer with a little help from the winch and two upright posts on the trailer. I drive an '07 Tahoe 4x4 with a receiver bar that has an 9" drop and ~12" (?) reach from the hitch. I add a 24" extension bar to the receiver for a bit of extra length for launch/retrieval only, never towing. I haven't had many problems launching with maybe 3-4" water on my rear tires. But most inland ramps in WI are more shallow fishing/speed boat friendly than keel boat friendly.

What really helped was to mark where the rear tire stopped on the ramp at launch so putting them in the same spot on the same ramp for retrieval is a no brainier.

Actually hung up slightly on the bottom one day on Lake Nagawicka in a 1-2 knot breeze. Grabbed the keel winch handle, gave it about 4 turns, and away we went. Not sure what I would've done in a fixed keel.

Fair winds to you in whatever you choose to sail.

CaptDon01 · Apr 9, 2016

Here is a comparison photo of our wing keeled MK-II next to our swing keeled new design. Both boat sitting on Trail-Rite trailers with identical drop axles and frames. The swing keel boat trailer had 14" rims, and the wing keel boat has 15" rims. So you can see the difference in the height pretty easy. We always need to extend out the tongue on the wing keeled boat, but I normally see no extension required on the swing keel boats at regattas.

Look at the waterline height at the fenders to really tell the difference.

The photo also shows the difference in the beam of the boats with the flared out hull of the MK-II version.

Don

Gene Neill · Apr 11, 2016

Don, I notice your winch strap actually pulls downward on your bow eye. Can you comment on that at all? I've always thought the strap should pull upward on the bow eye, or at least level.

What's your secret? Do I want to change mine?

CaptDon01 · Apr 11, 2016

Gene,

WHAT? You want me to divulge my top secret information? Just throw it out there for the whole world to see?

Actually......I never noticed that, that's the way it came, and in the attached photo of when I had two MK-II wing keel C-22's, with identical trailers, they too are the same. So all I can say, (and you better listen quick), "I don't know". LOL

Don

allen-deckard · Apr 14, 2016

I haven't chimed in on anything forever but Tort I would suggest taking a better look at the ramp you want to launch at before making any opinion on anything.

I can say the ramp that I have avail to me at my current location in the keys with my swing keel the trailer backs in until it hits the under water lip and then floats off. A wing keel would be impossible to launch here you simply could not get the depth needed without bumping the trailer tires over the lip and thus never be able to get it back out.

With that said my last location in Kentucky I never even had to come close to getting my tires wet the ramps were at a steep incline BOTH ramps are made for small fishing boats. The incline is what it's all about.

Before either of these I was in Indiana and those ramps were what I would call somewhere inbetween the two.

My suggestion if your dunkin in the same place 90% of the time just go out there and go swimming with a tape measure to be sure.

My two cents but I don't think anyone can really give you great advice on if it will work or not unless they know the specific ramp. They are indeed NOT all created equal.