How much more difficult is a wing keel to launch and tow than a swing keel? There is only a six inch difference in draft. There seems to be several advantages to the wing keel: less noise, less concern over the keel bolt and keel cable.
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catalina.net
Hello, No one has replied to your question yet so I will take a stab at it. As far as launching and retrevial of the boat itself, I know about the Swing Keel but not sure about the Wing Keel. Your best bet is to contact Catalina itself, they have a Great web page www.catalina.net and I am sure you will get the correct answer. For me the Swing Keel was more the one to go with. I find it a more stable platform then the wing keel. I feel(and this is soley my opinion) the wing keel is an excellent design for racing, and I find it more tender when under full sail with the same wind and sea conditions. So if you are wanting to race only, pick the wing, if you want to cruise and gunkhole or beach the boat, then the swing keel is the right approach. The cable and the swing keel pivot are of no more concern to me then any other part of my boat that requires periodic inspection and lubrication. Keeping in mind that neglect with either type of keel can give you problems. If the noise bothers you, there is a retrofit kit available from Catalina Direct that should take care of the problem if there is one. For me being I have a model 2000, I haven't yet experienced that problem as of yet. Most of the problems I read about here come from mainly new boat owners who have bought used Catalina's that were in need of repair at the time they bought it, or were upset with hearing the noise for the first time, and they thought their boat was falling apart on them. There are a few exceptions, and of course how the boat had been used must be taken into account as well as the age. So check with Catalina, they can tell you more, as well as some of the members here who may have had either or both types . Happy Sailing Dave LaPere
Hello, No one has replied to your question yet so I will take a stab at it. As far as launching and retrevial of the boat itself, I know about the Swing Keel but not sure about the Wing Keel. Your best bet is to contact Catalina itself, they have a Great web page www.catalina.net and I am sure you will get the correct answer. For me the Swing Keel was more the one to go with. I find it a more stable platform then the wing keel. I feel(and this is soley my opinion) the wing keel is an excellent design for racing, and I find it more tender when under full sail with the same wind and sea conditions. So if you are wanting to race only, pick the wing, if you want to cruise and gunkhole or beach the boat, then the swing keel is the right approach. The cable and the swing keel pivot are of no more concern to me then any other part of my boat that requires periodic inspection and lubrication. Keeping in mind that neglect with either type of keel can give you problems. If the noise bothers you, there is a retrofit kit available from Catalina Direct that should take care of the problem if there is one. For me being I have a model 2000, I haven't yet experienced that problem as of yet. Most of the problems I read about here come from mainly new boat owners who have bought used Catalina's that were in need of repair at the time they bought it, or were upset with hearing the noise for the first time, and they thought their boat was falling apart on them. There are a few exceptions, and of course how the boat had been used must be taken into account as well as the age. So check with Catalina, they can tell you more, as well as some of the members here who may have had either or both types . Happy Sailing Dave LaPere
Keels
I've only sailed a fixed keel and a swing keel, but came close to buying a winged keel. re/launching, the swing (which I bought) is fairly easy to launch, though if the ramp has a shallow incline, even with the tongue extension on the trailer it can be difficult (even have to disconnect and push the trailer on a heavy rope out to deeper water sometimes). I suspect the wing would be a little tougher to launch if it sits higher on the trailer. re/sailing, the fixed version sails a little nicer than the swing but the versatility of the latter can't be beat.
I've only sailed a fixed keel and a swing keel, but came close to buying a winged keel. re/launching, the swing (which I bought) is fairly easy to launch, though if the ramp has a shallow incline, even with the tongue extension on the trailer it can be difficult (even have to disconnect and push the trailer on a heavy rope out to deeper water sometimes). I suspect the wing would be a little tougher to launch if it sits higher on the trailer. re/sailing, the fixed version sails a little nicer than the swing but the versatility of the latter can't be beat.
My own experience with a wing keel
Bob, I have a C22 wing keel and have sailed a few times on some older models with swing keels. Obviously, the difference in draft affects the ease/difficulty of launching/retrieving. In my case the lakes I use are also used by much larger boats, so the ramps are designed to accomodate really deep draft. Aside from having to bury the trailer a little deeper down the ramp, my opinion is that the wing keel models are a little easier to launch and retrieve. The OEM trailer has a gate/guide that makes alignment almost idiotproof. Not true with a swing keel - you have to get the alignment pretty close or you will miss the rubber support for the swing keel. I feel that the wing keel makes my 22 slightly more tender than one with a swing keel, although this is hard to quantify. On the other hand, I'm not a racer and am a pretty conservative sailor. Having a wing keel does simplify the maintenance since a large fraction of these issues are concerned with swing keel maintenance (judging by posts to the C22 maillist). It does make launching and retrieval a bit more difficult. Most of the folks that I know that have wing keel models keep them in a slip. If I wanted to trailer more often, I would probably opt for a swing keel model though. But having a boat in a slip is so much nicer than having to launch every time I go sailing. I think the biggest question to ask is how much do you intend to trailer the boat. Good Luck, Dave in Denver
Bob, I have a C22 wing keel and have sailed a few times on some older models with swing keels. Obviously, the difference in draft affects the ease/difficulty of launching/retrieving. In my case the lakes I use are also used by much larger boats, so the ramps are designed to accomodate really deep draft. Aside from having to bury the trailer a little deeper down the ramp, my opinion is that the wing keel models are a little easier to launch and retrieve. The OEM trailer has a gate/guide that makes alignment almost idiotproof. Not true with a swing keel - you have to get the alignment pretty close or you will miss the rubber support for the swing keel. I feel that the wing keel makes my 22 slightly more tender than one with a swing keel, although this is hard to quantify. On the other hand, I'm not a racer and am a pretty conservative sailor. Having a wing keel does simplify the maintenance since a large fraction of these issues are concerned with swing keel maintenance (judging by posts to the C22 maillist). It does make launching and retrieval a bit more difficult. Most of the folks that I know that have wing keel models keep them in a slip. If I wanted to trailer more often, I would probably opt for a swing keel model though. But having a boat in a slip is so much nicer than having to launch every time I go sailing. I think the biggest question to ask is how much do you intend to trailer the boat. Good Luck, Dave in Denver
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