I am closing in on my first cruiser and most of what I am seeing will get me to the the same destination(experienced 22-23 footer for weekends+ with my wife and another couple occasionally until we can afford something more/gain experience). Light on the draft is a necessity(keys) so I am looking at a fixed wing keel or an (insert mechanism of choice) adjustable keel. I am having trouble seeing through brand biases to the best approach to the shallow draft problem. Please enlighten me to any pros/cons of each. I have tried to stfw but have not found anything. If you know of any good articles please point me in the right direction. Thanks. -Steven btw I am a soon to be a converted powerboater and have been lurking here for a little while.
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Steven, will the boat be left on a mooring...
...in a slip, and/or need to be trailer-launched? For your intended size boat, how the boat is moored/launched would make a big difference in keel preference. Also, while it's always nice to have less draft at certain times, there's no absolute minimum and so I wonder how you have wrestled with adjustable draft vs. water ballast, another whole design (seaworthiness & sailing ability) variable. As you know, type of ballast chosen and type of keel chosen will (we hope!) both be reflected in the rig and sail area incorporated into a given design, so looking at one of these elements (keel type) exclusively might produce a distorted conclusion. IOW don't overlook the forest when zeroing in on this one tree. Jack
...in a slip, and/or need to be trailer-launched? For your intended size boat, how the boat is moored/launched would make a big difference in keel preference. Also, while it's always nice to have less draft at certain times, there's no absolute minimum and so I wonder how you have wrestled with adjustable draft vs. water ballast, another whole design (seaworthiness & sailing ability) variable. As you know, type of ballast chosen and type of keel chosen will (we hope!) both be reflected in the rig and sail area incorporated into a given design, so looking at one of these elements (keel type) exclusively might produce a distorted conclusion. IOW don't overlook the forest when zeroing in on this one tree. Jack
keel choice
Hello, Wing Keel Benefits: 1. No keel raising / lowering system to maintain 2. No Keel raising / lowering system to break 3. No humming / vibrating sounds from the keel 4. Less draft while sailing Wing Keel Disadvantages 1. Difficult to trailer / launch 2. Sailing performance not as good as deeper keel 4. May be difficult to unground (wing can dig in) Swing Keel advantage 1. Easy to trailer and launch 2. Good sailing performance 3. Easy to unground Swing Keel disadvantage 1. Can be noisy under sail (hum, vibrate) 2. Maintenance of winch, cable, etc. 3. Requires deep water when sailing (especially upwind). AT least that's the way I see it. Good luck, Barry
Hello, Wing Keel Benefits: 1. No keel raising / lowering system to maintain 2. No Keel raising / lowering system to break 3. No humming / vibrating sounds from the keel 4. Less draft while sailing Wing Keel Disadvantages 1. Difficult to trailer / launch 2. Sailing performance not as good as deeper keel 4. May be difficult to unground (wing can dig in) Swing Keel advantage 1. Easy to trailer and launch 2. Good sailing performance 3. Easy to unground Swing Keel disadvantage 1. Can be noisy under sail (hum, vibrate) 2. Maintenance of winch, cable, etc. 3. Requires deep water when sailing (especially upwind). AT least that's the way I see it. Good luck, Barry
Jack's right think about how you will use the boat
With my swing keel boat I loved the bottom finder aspect of the swing keel. Lettiiing it hang down unlocked I could aggressively gunkhole knowing that if I ran aground a few cranks would set me free. But the humming of the cable and the clunking of the keel back and forth at times were annoying. A wing keel looks too much like an anchor and a friend said that his is hard to get unstuck.
With my swing keel boat I loved the bottom finder aspect of the swing keel. Lettiiing it hang down unlocked I could aggressively gunkhole knowing that if I ran aground a few cranks would set me free. But the humming of the cable and the clunking of the keel back and forth at times were annoying. A wing keel looks too much like an anchor and a friend said that his is hard to get unstuck.
Check Out sailnet.com
If you log on to sailnet.com click on the "boat check" listing under the "Resources" menu. You can then type in the type of boat that you are considering (eg. catalina 22) and it will give you several owner reviews by year. It just so happens that there are several reviews that compare swing vs wing keel on there now! Try the link below (if it will work!).
If you log on to sailnet.com click on the "boat check" listing under the "Resources" menu. You can then type in the type of boat that you are considering (eg. catalina 22) and it will give you several owner reviews by year. It just so happens that there are several reviews that compare swing vs wing keel on there now! Try the link below (if it will work!).
barry's got it
I've owned both swing keel and wing keel boats and have found that for me and the type of sailing I do that a swing keel is best. As Barry said, both have pro's and con's. I felt that the wing keel on the SW coast of Fla was too difficult to unground, didn't point as high as I wanted and was a general pain in the arse to haul out onto a trailer when I did (boat is kept at my dock). As you know, here in south fla the waters are thin at best and it's a matter of when not if you run aground. The humming and vibrating of the swing keel I've found quite charming, but that is probably the rum I drink while sailing...... Besides, I can honestly say that I rarely, if ever, hear it hum or vibrate on our S2. One other posslble draw back of a swing keel on some boats is the keel banging inside the trunk while anchored. This is only a problem on boats that the trunk is up inside the cabin such as the Precision 23 or the Catalina 22. On our S2 7.0 the trunk is down below water line so I've never heard so much as a peep from the swing keel. As for maintaining the swing keel, no problems down here. The water is warm enough that IF I had to go for a swim it wouldn't be too much of a drag. Besides, I am a firm believer of prevention in the maintaince area. So far I've never had a keel pendant fail. Great, now I've tempted the sailing Gods.
I've owned both swing keel and wing keel boats and have found that for me and the type of sailing I do that a swing keel is best. As Barry said, both have pro's and con's. I felt that the wing keel on the SW coast of Fla was too difficult to unground, didn't point as high as I wanted and was a general pain in the arse to haul out onto a trailer when I did (boat is kept at my dock). As you know, here in south fla the waters are thin at best and it's a matter of when not if you run aground. The humming and vibrating of the swing keel I've found quite charming, but that is probably the rum I drink while sailing...... Besides, I can honestly say that I rarely, if ever, hear it hum or vibrate on our S2. One other posslble draw back of a swing keel on some boats is the keel banging inside the trunk while anchored. This is only a problem on boats that the trunk is up inside the cabin such as the Precision 23 or the Catalina 22. On our S2 7.0 the trunk is down below water line so I've never heard so much as a peep from the swing keel. As for maintaining the swing keel, no problems down here. The water is warm enough that IF I had to go for a swim it wouldn't be too much of a drag. Besides, I am a firm believer of prevention in the maintaince area. So far I've never had a keel pendant fail. Great, now I've tempted the sailing Gods.
Thanks for the responses.
Thank you for the responses. We will be trailering this boat heavily and storing it on the trailer as well. We have decided on a non water-ballasted hunter 23 w/ a wing keel(and sea tow insurance) All of the swing keels I have seen have terrible rust/corrosion problems that I don't want to deal with right now. The price is right and the only real problems are in the cabin which I am willing to put some work into. It took a couple of boats to know what I want in the powerboat world and I am sure it will be the same here.
Thank you for the responses. We will be trailering this boat heavily and storing it on the trailer as well. We have decided on a non water-ballasted hunter 23 w/ a wing keel(and sea tow insurance) All of the swing keels I have seen have terrible rust/corrosion problems that I don't want to deal with right now. The price is right and the only real problems are in the cabin which I am willing to put some work into. It took a couple of boats to know what I want in the powerboat world and I am sure it will be the same here.
a great boat
I've owned a 1989 H23 with the wing keel, she was a great little boat and we sailed up and down west coast from Cape Sable to Tarpon Springs. We found her to be well built for the cost but watch out for the single under water thru-hull in the stern. If it breaks you will sink, fast. That actually happened to a friend of mine with the exact same boat off the coast of Naples. Fortunately the water depth was, as usual, thin so he clung to the mast all night until a crabber came by in the AM. You'll love that boat, especially with a spinakker!
I've owned a 1989 H23 with the wing keel, she was a great little boat and we sailed up and down west coast from Cape Sable to Tarpon Springs. We found her to be well built for the cost but watch out for the single under water thru-hull in the stern. If it breaks you will sink, fast. That actually happened to a friend of mine with the exact same boat off the coast of Naples. Fortunately the water depth was, as usual, thin so he clung to the mast all night until a crabber came by in the AM. You'll love that boat, especially with a spinakker!
a great boat
Thanks for the info. We picked her up at lunch today; I can't wait to get home. She has a knot meter thru-hull which is the only thru-hull I saw below the waterline. Is this what caused your friend's to sink? I was thinking about removing it and repairing the hole but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet.
Thanks for the info. We picked her up at lunch today; I can't wait to get home. She has a knot meter thru-hull which is the only thru-hull I saw below the waterline. Is this what caused your friend's to sink? I was thinking about removing it and repairing the hole but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet.
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