a few years back in Sturgeon Bay on Lake Michigan.
Checked your keel bolts lately? |
The Southerly 49 draws less than 3 feet with the keel up and can sit down on a beach. With the keel down, she draws more than most 4 footers (10 feet!) and sails very well. Photos is courtesy of . |
The sitting pretty at low tide. |
I tend to think that keel type is only one variable, the others being hull form and rig. Bob Perry says don't try and defend the full keel on its performance merits... Fair enough, but how do you define performance? I wonder if a lot of the grumbling about fin keels hasn't more to do with the fact that so many modern designs are inherently compromised in the quest for speed and luxury accommodations. Sadly, a lot of modern design is a reflection of society at large, where people simply don't have any time... As you alluded to, it depends on what your priorities are. Does "sailing" mean racing around the cans with evening cocktails and wife swapping in the marina, or bluewater passage-making? I will say that when you're 200 miles out in the Gulf of Alaska, and it's sketchy enough that the kids are scared silent, and the wife is giving you "that look", the ability to point a couple degrees higher and wring another knot out of a reach suddenly takes a backseat.
Popular posts from this blog, top 10 favorite affordable bluewater sailboats, go small and go now 5 pocket cruisers to take you anywhere.
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For generations, sailing has been a mode of essential transportation, a rewarding hobby, an active and competitive sport, and a lifestyle. Sailing appeals to all, and there are dozens and dozens of types of sailboats.
Small sailboats are perfect for kids to sail on, and massive sailboats are used to cross oceans in style. In between, there are daysailers, racers, and cruisers.
Cruising boats, cruising catamarans, cruising trimarans, full keel boats, fin keel boats, centerboard keel.
Faqs (frequently asked questions).
Sailboats are boats that are propelled by the wind. Sailboats use wind power instead of a motor or oars to move the boat. It should be noted, though, that nearly all modern sailboats have a motor as well. It comes in handy when docking in tight marinas and if the wind dies!
A sailboat has one, two, or three hulls. It has at least one mast, or tall vertical spar, that holds up one or more sails. The sails harness the power of the wind to move the boat forward.
To get started, here are some sailing boat types and terms to give you an idea of the sorts of boats that are out there.
There are many different types of sailboats, so they look a little different from each other. The basics, however, are the same.
Each sailboat has at least one hull that sits in the water. Part of the hull is visible above the waterline. Part of the sailboat hull sits below the waterline.
The part beneath the waterline might be relatively small, or it can be quite large. The rudder, the mechanism used to steer the boat, is also underwater.
The cockpit is where the helmsperson sits and steers the boat. On small boats, the cockpit takes up the entire boat. Cruising boats have interior accommodations as well as a safe cockpit.
Sailboats have at least one mast and at least one mainsail. As you get to know the different types of sailboats, you’ll see many different hull and sail configurations.
Sailboats come in all types of sailboat shapes and sailboat sizes . Sailboats can be classified by their hull shape, size, or sail plan. The sail plan is how many sails they carry on how many masts.
Hull shapes include monohulls, catamarans, trimarans, and sailing hydrofoils. A monohull has just one hull, a catamaran has two hulls, a trimaran has three hulls, and a hydrofoil lifts out of the water.
Sizes range from eight-foot sailboats to megayachts that are hundreds of feet long. Some sailboats are so small they are only suitable for one child who wants to go skimming across the lake. The largest pure sailing yacht in the world is the Black Pearl at 350 feet long (106.7 meters) long. Visit our Yacht vs Sailboat guide for a more definitive difference between the two and their sizes.
Sailboats also have different sail configurations or sail plans. For example, a sailboat with just one big sail on a forward-mounted mast is called a catboat. A boat with dozens of different sails on three masts is called a three-mast schooner.
Small sailboats are extremely popular and offer a lot of fun to the young and old. Most of the time, these boats are just used for daytime use in pleasant weather conditions. Kids often learn to sail in small monohull sailboats. Families might go for a picnic in a Hobie catamaran.
Yacht club members might race their 16-foot daysailors, while adventurous souls might take their 19-ft weekender and anchor in a calm cove for the weekend.
Small sailboats have different names, depending on the type of sailboat and the number of sail boat hulls. For example, the boat might be a monohull dinghy, small catboat, small catamaran, or daysailor.
Additionally, like every car on the road, every boat on the water is identified by its make and model. In small boats that are commonly raced, a certain make and model may set up a class of racing boats. Class racing means that all of the boats are identical, so the race is based solely on the skills of the skippers.
Kids and adults often learn to sail on sailing dinghies. Sailing dinghies can be as small as eight feet long. This small size makes it easy for kids to handle.
Some common sailing dinghies are Optis, Lasers, and Sunfish.
This size sailboat is also functional. They can be used to ferry sailors from their larger anchored boats to shore. The small size also helps sailors easily store their dinghy on larger boats. The word dinghy is often used to refer to any small boat used as a tender for a larger vessel, even if the tender is a motorboat.
A cat rig boat, or cat boat, is a type of sailboat that usually just has one large mainsail and a forward-mounted mast. Many smaller dinghies and training boats are catboats. A catboat has a free-standing mast with no standing rigging.
A catamaran is a boat with two hulls. The Hobie brand is synonymous with small catamarans, which are popular with families looking for a fun hobby. Hobie Cats are seen on the sand at beach resorts all over the world—they’re safe, fun, and fast.
Catamarans are faster than monohulls, and these boats are fun to race. Small catamarans are often used by families that live on the waterfront. Their lightweight makes them easy to drag to the waterfront and launch.
Small catamarans are also popular on beaches. Many beach resorts offer Hobie cats for rent. Small catamarans are between 12-20 feet in length. The hulls are joined only with spars and netting, so these fast and light open boats are not set up to carry a lot of people or supplies.
Daysailors are the ultimate fun boat. As the name implies, this type of sailing boat is used for day sailing. These boats are usually between 12 to 20 feet long. Some use these smaller boats for racing or overnight camping, but most sailors use daysailors for a leisurely sail.
While most small sailboats just have a large open cockpit, several small yacht types have cabins. These cabins offer a chance for sailors to use a porta-potty or get out of the sun. Some small sailboats even have sleeping accommodations for overnight stays.
An excellent example of this is the Cape Dory Typhoon Weekender. This small sailboat is known as “America’s Littlest Yacht.” Down below, there are two small bunks for sleeping and enough space to have a small stove and a porta-potty. Most owners don’t stay aboard long-term, but the cabin is a useful place to stow items while sailing or to hide during a rainstorm.
Cruising boats are boats that are capable of traveling long distances. Cruising boats have sleeping accommodations, cooking facilities, and bathroom facilities. These boats are like RVs for the waterway.
Cruising boats offer sailors the chance to live on their boats while sailing. Like RVs, cruising sailboats travel to different ports of call. Cruising sailboats are one of the more popular types of sailing boat. They offer adventurous sailors the chance to enjoy sailing as a sport while seeing new things.
Cruising boats are usually 30 to 50 feet long. Most cruising couples prefer a boat that is around 40 feet long since this provides enough space to live comfortably and enough storage space for all of their gear.
Monohulls are very popular cruising boats. These boats offer good storage, are safe, and are easy for a couple to handle together. Monohulls have different types of sail configurations.
Most monohulls are Bermuda rig sloops. This sail plan features one mast with a mainsail and a headsail. Bermuda rig sloops are easy to single-hand and very versatile. How many sails does a sloop have? A Bermuda sloop flies two sails at a time, which are the mainsail and a headsail.
However, the boat might have other sails onboard. For example, the captain might take down the jib in light winds and use a bigger genoa to capture more wind power. During a downwind sail with light winds, the captain might rig a large spinnaker, which looks like a huge kite, to keep sailing even in little wind.
Even within the sloop category, there are many variations in the design. A masthead sloop is one whose forestay (headsail) goes all the way to the top of the mast. In contrast, a fractional sloop’s forestay connects at some point lower. So a 3/4 fractional rig has a headsail that only goes up three-quarters of the way to the top.
Riggers and boat designers have a lot of tools in their toolbox from which they can make a boat faster or more user-friendly. The type of rigging and sail plan a boat is equipped with offers it performance improvements as well as functionality.
A cutter is a sailboat with one mast, one mainsail, and two sails forward of the mast. The sail at the front of the boat is the jib, genoa, or yankee depending on its size and cut. The next sail in, the inner headsail, is called the staysail. Island Packets are popular boats with this sail plan.
Cutters are popular choices as cruising and bluewater cruiser boats because the staysail provides the skipper with many different sail options. They could fly all three sails fully, or they could fly a small partial mainsail and just the staysail for heavy winds.
Some cruising monohulls are ketches. A ketch can be easily identified by its two masts. The forward mast is the main mast with a mainsail. The aft mizzen mast is shorter and has a mizzen sail. This sail plan can make it easier to carry a big sail area and configure the sails for various sailing conditions.
A boat with more than one mast is called a split rig because the rig is split between two shorter masts instead of all mounted on one tall one. The advantage of a split rig is that there are more sails, each of which is smaller. That makes them easier to handle, and important consideration when you are sailing alone or with only one other person.
A yawl is similar to a ketch and has two masts. However, the mizzen mast on a yawl is aft of the rudder post, whereas it is forward of the rudder post on a ketch. This mizzen mast location is even further back than a ketch’s. Yawls are one of the less popular types of sailboats. However, like the ketch, they offer diverse sail options and can keep sailing in many different types of weather.
On both ketches and yawls, the mizzen mast is shorter than the main mast. If the two masts are of equal height, or the forward mast is shorter, then you are looking at a schooner.
Cruising catamarans are one of the most popular classes of sailboats right now. This type of sailing boat has two hulls and offers sailors speed, space, and comfort. A cruising catamaran is usually between 40 and 60 feet long and 20 to 30 feet wide. The additional width offers cruise sailors huge amounts of space.
Cruising catamarans have excellent storage space and ample living accommodations if you intend to living on a boat . These boats are popular with couples and families and are often used to sail around the world on circumnavigations.
Cruising catamarans are usually fractional sloop rigs. They have one mast, a large mainsail, and a jib or genoa. In general, these boats are designed to be easy to sail and minimize complications.
Trimarans are a type of sailboat with three hulls. Trimarans are known to be fast and are popular with racing sailors. However, they are also gaining popularity as cruising boats. These boats usually have fewer accommodations than cruising monohulls and catamarans. However, more modern trimarans like the Neel Trimaran have luxurious living spaces.
Another way to classify the different types of sailing boats is by looking at the boat’s keel type. You can easily get an idea of different keel designs by walking around a boatyard. When a sailboat is in the water, it is hard to tell the shape of its keel.
The keel is the bottom part of the hull and is underwater. The keel is structurally essential. The keel’s weight helps the boat sail evenly and uprightly. The force created by the water moving over the keel counteracts the effects of the wind on the sails.
So a keel does two jobs for a sailboat. First, it provides a force that allows a sailboat to sail into the wind. Second, it provides stability. If storm-force weather conditions cause a monohull boat to roll, the weight in the keel will help the boat right itself.
Many older cruising boats had full keels. The keel shape runs the entire length of the boat. A full-keel boat is strong and easy to manufacture. Full-keel boats often have deeper drafts. The boat’s draft refers to the amount of water it needs to float. Full-keel boats can’t go into the shallow anchorages that catamarans or swing-keel boats can access.
Captains often report that full-keel boats are harder to maneuver in tight places such as marinas. Full-keel boats lack quick maneuverability. They have a reputation for being slower than more modern designs, but they make up for this by providing a very comfortable and safe ride in rough weather.
A boat with a fin keel has a smaller underwater profile than a boat with a full keel. This smaller keel resembles a fish fin. Captains find fin keel boats easier to maneuver. Fin keels use their shape to create very effective forces underwater. That makes them very good at countering the forces on the sails, meaning that fin keels sail upwind very well.
A boat with a bulb keel has a torpedo-shaped bulb on the bottom of a fin keel. Bulb keels offer improved stability. Bulb keels have shallower keels than a fin keel boat. The bulb also lowers the center of gravity in the boat, making it more stable overall.
A wing keel features a keel with a small wing on either side of the keel. Viewed from above, the keel looks like it has a set of small airplane wings.
Similar to a bulb keel, wing keel boats often have a shallower draft than fin-keel boats. However, the additional shape causes drag and can reduce sailing performance in some circumstances.
A centerboard is common on small daysailors that are launched and retrieved from trailers. Deep keels make getting those boats in and out of the water difficult. By chopping off the keel, you can make a sailboat as easy to launch as a powerboat.
Related: Best Trailerable Sailboats
But of course, a sailboat needs to have a keel. A centerboard is a simple swinging fin keel that can be raised or lowered. This provides some excellent benefits if the sailor on board likes to explore areas with shallow water.
Many bigger boats have centerboards, too. A boat with a centerboard can be seen as the best of both worlds. A centerboard boat has a fixed shallow draft keel. However, the captain can deploy the centerboard when sailing in deeper waters. The centerboard adds depth to the keel and offers increased stability and performance.
A modification of the centerboard is the swing keel — a ballasted keel that can be retracted like a centerboard . These are rare. They’re used on large cruising boats where the crews want the option of accessing shallow waters. In England, this type of boat is used and can be dried out when the tide goes out.
Yacht racing is a popular sailing sport. It’s a great way to get out on the water while competing. In fact, racing is a great way for sailors to hone their sailing skills. Sailors have to pay close attention to weather conditions and manage their sails effectively to maximize their speed.
Sailors can race any boat with sails. Kids race sailing dinghies against each other. Club racers sail daysailors or catboats. Catamarans and trimarans are also popular race boats. Several classes of boat races in the Summer Olympics.
A hydrofoil is a unique and modern type of racing sailboat. A hydrofoil can be a monohull, catamaran, or trimaran. A hydrofoil has wing-like foils on the hull’s underside.
As the sailboat speeds up, the hydrofoils lift the hull out of the water, and the hydrofoil sailboat almost appears to be flying above the water.
Because the hull is now out of the water, drag, and resistance are minimal, and the sailboat can sail even faster. For example, a dinghy that usually goes four knots can accelerate to 12 knots when fitted with a hydrofoil.
Most hydrofoil sailboats are catamarans and trimarans. The added width of these multihull sailboats gives the hydrofoil sailboat more stability.
Traditional sailboats are the type of sailboats used to transport people and goods before modern transportation options were available. Before the railway, cars, and airplanes, a tall ship sailboat was used to ship cargo and people across oceans and from port to port.
A gaff rig refers to the gaff, which is the upper spar on a square-shaped sail. Gaff rigs can be used with any mast configuration, but this feature is usually seen on traditional boats like a catboat, tall ship, or schooner.
A schooner has at least two masts. They are different from other mast configuration designs with two spars in that both masts are equal in height, or the forward mast is shorter. Schooners are faster than most traditional boats and were often used to transport perishable goods such as fruit.
Schooners were also popular race boats in the early 20th century. For example, first America’s Cup races were won by schooners.
Today, schooners are usually used as charters for vacations or youth sail training programs. But there are a few cruising boats out there that feature schooner rigs.
Any way you divvy it up, there are tons of different types of sailboats out there. With a little research and a little looking, you’re sure to find one that suits your style and boating plans.
Sailboat styles can be classified by hull type, use, or sail plan. The types of sailboat hulls include monohulls, catamarans, and trimarans. You can also categorize the kinds of sailboats by their use. For example, sailors use their boats for daysailing, cruising, and racing. Finally, different kinds of sailboats have different sail plans. A sailboat might be a sloop, ketch, yawl, catboat, or schooner. The term “classes” has a particular meaning in sailing, however. Class racing is the competitive racing between boats of the same make and model—boats of the same “class” or of “one design.” There are hundreds of different classes of sailboats out there. Some of the most popular classes include the Laser and Sunfish classes.
A small two-person sailboat is a dinghy. These small boats are fun to sail on protected waters. Many kids learn to sail in a sailing dinghy. There are dozens of makes and models of sailing dinghies available, some are used in Olympic sailing racing while others are just rowboats with sail rigs attached.
Matt has been boating around Florida for over 25 years in everything from small powerboats to large cruising catamarans. He currently lives aboard a 38-foot Cabo Rico sailboat with his wife Lucy and adventure dog Chelsea. Together, they cruise between winters in The Bahamas and summers in the Chesapeake Bay.
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The keel type is one of the most important features of your boat. But the different designs can be confusing, so I've set out to create a very clear guide that will help you understand sailboat keels once and for all.
What are the most common sailboat keel types? The most common sailboat keel types are full-length keels, fin keels, bulb keels, wing keels, bilge keels, and lifting keels. Full keels are popular among cruisers, while fin keels are generally used for racing. Bilge keels and lifting keels are typically used in tidal waters, on small fishing boats for example.
In this article, we'll explore the most common keel types together. I'll use diagrams to really hit home the differences of all these keel types, and we'll discuss what keel types are best for liveaboard, ocean cruising, and lake weekend trips. After reading this article, you'll know what to choose - and why.
Overview of sailboat keel types, keel types: fundamentals, modified full keel, centerboard.
If you just want a quick overview, here's a list with the most common keel types and a short description. More detail will follow below.
Keel type | Comfort | Maneuverability | Speed |
---|---|---|---|
Full keel | +++ | -- | -- |
Modified full keel | +++ | - | - |
Fin keel | - | ++ | ++ |
Bilge keel | + | + | - |
Lifting keel | - | ++ | ++ |
Leeboards | -- | -- | +++ |
What does the keel do? A keel is a vertical blade running down from the hull. It is weighted and acts as a ballast, countering the boat's tendency to heel and preventing it from tipping over. The wetted surface under the waterline reduces slippage to leeward by creating a track, which counters the sideway force of the wind on the sails.
The reason sailboats don't tip over is that the weight of the keel counters the buoyancy of the hull, which means it will pull the boat downward. This downward force reduces heel and prevents the boat from rolling.
A canoe doesn't have a keel. Try stepping into that: it will want to roll.
It counters the horizontal force the wind puts on the sails. Whenever the force on the sails increases, the resistance of the water on the keel increases proportionally.
The heavier the keel, the less heel you'll get.
A keel reduces slippage to leeward. Slippage is simply the amount you fall off course because of the direction of the wind and current. Leeward is the side of the boat behind the wind.
So if you don't have a keel, you will fall off course quite a lot because the wind will push you over the water surface.
You will also heel quite a lot since there is nothing beneath the water surface to counter the force of the wind high up in your sails.
A keel fixes both of these issues and makes sailboats one of the most reliable boats in heavy winds and storms.
You can read on about how keels work here.
Keels can be classified by multiple dimensions. You can look at them from the side or the front. You can also classify them based on properties.
Before I dive into each keel type in-depth and show examples, let's make sure we have the same starting point.
There are essentially two sorts of keels:
Movable keels.
Fixed keels are keels that are integrated into the hull or bolted on. They can't be moved or lifted.
When looking at fixed keels, you can divide them up further based on the side view. There are three main categories:
Full keels are more comfortable, provide better stability and protection, but are also slower than fin keels.
Fin keels are less comfortable, provide less stability, are more vulnerable, but they're also a lot faster than full keels.
Bilge keels are double keels: one on each side of the hull. This allows them to be beached, which comes in handy in tidal waters. They are generally a lot slower and less maneuverable compared to fin keels.
Movable keels can be lifted from the water, creating a shoal (shallow) draft, allowing the boat to enter both shallow waters and coastal waters. This makes it a very versatile keel type. There are two main designs:
Lifting keels can be lowered and raised through a slit in the hull. Examples of lifting keels are the daggerboard and centerboard.
Leeboards are wooden swords attached to the side of the hull and prevent slippage to leeward, but they don't stabilize the boat, nor counter heel by adding ballast.
With fin keels, there are different tip designs available. The most common two tip designs are:
These are both variants of the fin keel. Generally, these keel designs are mentioned in one breath with full keels and fin keels, creating confusion on what kind of keel they are. But it's important to understand that they are a sub-category of fin keels.
As with the tip of the fin, there are different rudder designs that may apply to both fin and full keels. The two most common rudder designs are:
Spade rudder.
A skeg is a structural part of the keel in front of the rudder that protects the rudder. The keel encompasses the rudder, preventing any rogue ropes, weeds, or rocks from damaging the rudder.
A spade rudder is an unprotected rudder: it doesn't have any structural protection from the keel design. It is simply attached to the hull. This design is very common.
Alright, we understand the big picture. Let's dive into more detail for each keel type and discuss the pros and cons.
Fixed keel Good for cruising and liveaboards Comfortable
What is a full keel? A full keel runs from front to aft for at least 50% of the hull and is fully integrated into the hull. It has the largest wetted surface of any keel type, and it is also the heaviest. This results in directional stability and reduced heeling, providing the most comfortable ride, but also the slowest.
The wetted surface simply means the amount of water contact area. With such a large wetted surface, it decreases slippage to leeward the most of all keel types, while it counters heeling the most as well.
The full keel is the most comfortable and stable keel type available. However, comfort comes at a price. It delivers the worst performance due to this large wetted area. It is the slowest of the keel types, and it has the worst windward performance.
This makes full keels particularly great for longtime cruisers or liveaboards who prefer comfort over speed, but less ideal for daysailers who need to navigate in and out of slips regularly.
Since it runs for at least 50% of the hull, it doesn't need to run as deep as a fin keel, resulting in a more shoal draft.
Heavier keels result in increased displacement, so a full keel boat will need a larger sail area to compensate for its weight.
For a more detailed discussion on full keel advantages, I recommend reading William's excellent article 5 Surprising Advantages of a Full Keel Sailboat here.
There are a lot of great cruising boats with full keel designs , some of them considered classics.
Full keels with a skeg rudder design have a protected rudder, thanks to putting a structural part of the keel directly in front of the rudder. This helps with fending off any hazards to the rudder, like floating pieces of rope, rocks, or garbage, and protects it in case of running aground. The skeg design ensures the rudder is nearly impossible to break off.
Fixed keel Good for cruising and liveaboards Faster than a regular full keel
What is a modified full keel? A modified full keel is a full keel with a cutout at the front, reducing the wetted surface slightly, which increases performance without sacrificing too much comfort and stability. After the full keel, it has the best directional stability and the least amount of heel.
The modified full keel is popular among (bluewater) cruisers, thanks to its increased handling and performance. Most modified full keels have a skeg rudder, ensuring it is well-protected.
The slightly reduced weight and wetted surface improve windward performance quite a lot, but it is still one of the most stable keel designs out there.
Fixed keel Good for racing Fast
What is a fin keel? A fin keel is a long, weighted blade attached to the bottom of the hull. It is lighter, faster, and more maneuverable than a full keel, but also more vulnerable. The increased distance between ballast and sails provides a lever, reducing the need for a large wetted surface or additional ballast.
Fin keels are generally bolted onto the hull and run deeper and thinner than a full keel. They are also lighter. This helps increasing performance (a lot), making fin keels a lot faster in all situations.
There are some major disadvantages to fin keels, however. Fin keels are a lot less comfortable than full keels and allow for more heel and a less solid track, so less directional stability. Fin keels are also a lot more vulnerable than full keels. They can break off when running aground, or get damaged.
They are very popular among racers and perform better when maneuvering in tight spots, like getting in and out of slips.
Fin keels with a skeg rudder use a small structural part in front of the rudder to protect it. This design is mostly integrated into the hull, making it less vulnerable, and a great compromise between speed and safety.
Fin keels with a spade rudder have a completely exposed rudder, and typically a fin that is simply bolted on. The keel isn't integrated into the hull, making it more vulnerable and less comfortable.
Fin keel variant Good for cruising Less crossflow
What is a wing keel? A wing keel is a fin keel with a horizontal foil at the tip, which is wing-shaped and generally weighted. Its shape reduces crossflow, improving directional stability, and its ballast decreases heel, resulting in a more comfortable ride. The addition of a wingtip allows for a shorter fin, reducing draft.
Wing keels are good for cruising since this design improves directional stability compared to a regular fin keel or a bulb keel.
We'll discuss the wing keel's advantages and disadvantages in more detail in this article.
Fin keel variant Good for cruising Stability
What is a bulb keel? A bulb keel is a high-aspect-ratio fin keel with additional ballast at the end, which generally has a bulb or teardrop shape. This ballast improves stability and utilizes the distance between force and counterforce as a lever. This design reduces the need for a deep fin, resulting in a shoal draft.
By placing the weight at the largest possible distance from the force on the sails, you need relatively little extra weight for the same reduction in heel, making bulb keels very effective for cruising.
This design reduces the wetted area while increasing the weight of the keel just slightly, which increases sailing comfort big time.
Fixed keel Good for racing Can be beached
What is a bilge keel? A bilge keel is a twin keel which uses double fins, allowing the boat to be beached and rest on its keel upright. Bilge keels have double the wetted surface, which increases comfort and directional stability while decreasing heel. Modern bilge keels often provide decent windward performance, thanks to better design.
The bilge keel does sacrifice speed compared to the fin keel but doesn't necessarily offer worse performance overall. Older designs performed considerably worse than other keels and were especially slow.
Bilge keels have some major advantages over full keels and fin keels. The most important is that the boat can be beached, making it a popular design in tidal waters. Bilge keels are especially common along the British coastline, where fishermen keep their boats in tidal harbors.
Another major advantage is that the boat can be stored resting on its keels, making dry storage and maintenance a lot easier.
Of course, there are many more pros and cons to the bilge keel , which we go into here.
Lifting keel Good for daysailers Versatile
What is a centerboard? A centerboard is a type of retractable keel that rests on a hinge and can be lowered through a slot in the hull. It folds out like a pocket knife and allows you to increase or reduce the draft of the boat. Centerboards are mostly used on small fishing boats.
The centerboard is a very versatile keel type, allowing you to have both a very shoal draft for inland waters, as well as steadying the boat and reducing heel for larger bodies of water, or even oceans.
I've sailed a Cornish Crabber with a centerboard for a week, and while we stayed inland, having the option to increase the keel depth really came in handy when crossing the IJsselmeer (a former sea in The Netherlands).
There's more to the center
https://www.theyachtmarket.com/en/new-boats/cornish-crabbers/adventure-17/218/
My name is Olaf and I am the owner of a Cornish Crabber 17 Adventure boat.
I would like to ask you if you can imagine to install on this boat a Torqeedo 2.0 Pod motor? Therefore i guess a modification of the keel/skeg is necessary ?!
Best regards from Uruguay,
You completely missed the hybrid planing/water-ballast keel of the Macgregor range
Thanks a lot for this explanation
Very well written article which provides an excellent guide for us small wooden boat builders. Thanks.
There are many types of keels, but the main two categories are Full and Fin Keels. Traditionally, cruising boats had a full keel, and that made them very stable in the water. This design prevailed for decades until the industry began to realize the emergence of a new type of consumer, the weekend vacationer, or sailor. For this new client, those high benefits were not a priority because rarely, if never to say, would he move away from the coast.
Sailboats have keels to reduce the amount of slippage to leeward (the opposite side of the boat the wind is coming from). In essence, the keel of a sailboat has the function of compensating the action of the wind on the sails, preventing dejection, converting that force into thrust, and making the ship stay on course. As a general rule, the heavier and deeper a keel is, the more stable a boat is.
Each keel shape has advantages and disadvantages, you will never have the “perfect” keel for your boat. But, the best keel for you and your boat completely depends on the style of sailing that you are planning on doing.
Although full keels are by far the least efficient design, they offer incredible strength and versatility. If we want to explore new waters in which we could run aground, or travel offshore, a complete keel will keep our backs better than any other. One thing is certain though, a full keel will never fall off your boat as a fin keel can.
The fin keel is, by far, the most common type in modern sailboats. A fin keel is a flat, narrow and hydrodynamic piece located under the hull. Unlike the running keel, it is not an integral part of it but is screwed to it. To compensate for the relatively small ballast it provides, the fin keel is usually deeper.
It is said that fin keels are made to outrun a storm and full keels ara made to weather a storm. So, a full keel sailboat will be slower but more stable during bad weather where a fin keel will be faster but more unstable. A fin keel boat will not have a problem sailing during a storm and you will make it out just fine but you will not be as comfortable or “safe” as in a full keel boat.
Your choice also has to do with the length of the boat you will buy. A very small boat will benefit from a full keel and heavy displacement in terms of seaworthiness and safety. However, a small boat with these characteristics will be a slow one. If speed and time are not your concerns then maybe a full keel is a better match for you.
Like so many things in sailing, there are many tradeoffs in this particular choice, and only you can decide what’s best for you.
So, as you can understand, there not a clear winner in this competition. The answer to this question really does depend on what is the purpose of the boat’s design and your individual needs. Will you be using your boat to cruise, make passages, offshore cruising, offshore racing, coastal racing, etc? You first need to answer these questions and get a boat the checks most items on your “wish list”.
Peter is the editor of Better Sailing. He has sailed for countless hours and has maintained his own boats and sailboats for years. After years of trial and error, he decided to start this website to share the knowledge.
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Devlin Boats , Sailboats
The Lit’l Coot 18 Full Keel is a is seaworthy and capable motorsailor with enough space on board for the organized sailor and enough potential to keep serious travelers satisfied. She is the sister to the original Lit’l Coot with the same hull and the same tendency for balanced performance and maximal use of space, but the change to a fixed centerline keel allows her to stand up to weather that the original could not handle. This change also frees up space in the cabin, which makes her more comfortable for longer cruises. Twin rudders surround the outboard motor on the centerline to allow efficient motor cruising on an economical 9.9 hp outboard.
Read Sam’s design notes below for the big picture on the Lit’l Coot Full Keel.
The Lit’l Coot 18 Full Keel is available in study and full construction plans .
Precision cut CNC hull kit available here
Length | 17 ft. – 10.5 in. |
Beam | 6 ft. – 11 in. |
Draft | 2 ft. – 6 in. |
Power | Outboard 9.9hp |
Displacement | 2300 lbs. |
Ballast | 650 lbs. |
Sail Area | 160 sq. ft. |
Height on Trailer | 8 ft. – 4 in. |
Recently I was working on the plans for a small under 20ft. Pocket Sailor design but found during the process I couldn’t help but think about another design, one roughly the same size and in many respects similar in use, but the type I zeroed in on was a small Motorsailor. This “Litl Coot” design is the result of my musings and dreams. Now in this case, despite being my own design customer, I still needed to stay focused and set up a list of design parameters that the new design would accommodate. First of all she needed to be very trailerable with the capability of sitting on a powerboat type trailer low and compact enough to be able to be backed into a garage or storage shed without any special needs. So right away that got rid of any notion that I would need to design a deep keel for her. I flirted with the idea of leeboards but quickly realized that a couple of hardwood Bilge Keels, along with a centerline small shoe keel and aft skeg, would be just the ticket. The bilge keels also had the additional benefit that they would allow her to beach out level and upright if I got caught by a quickly receding tide in some of the shallow and very tidal bays that I was dreaming of using her on. If you are a fan of classic literature, there is an excellent novel written just before World War One titled “Riddle of the Sands”. The story is based near the Friesian Islands located off the N.W. shore of Holland and Germany. These waters are a very tidal area and the descriptions of the main character straying off the dredged and poorly marked channels and getting caught on the sands in his shoal draft boat with all the extra adventures that one would have with that scenario, has always been appealing to me. Anyway, it’s a great read. As I recollect, this is either one of the first or the very first Mystery Adventure novels written by Erskine Childers and it has had a prominent position in my library for many years.
But back to the “Litl Coot” design – once I had made the decision to give her bilge keels, that meant all her ballast needed to be in the bilge and my plan is to use recycled lead shot (I buy mine from one of the local trap and skeet shooting ranges) which is very nice to work with, all cleaned, in small canvas bags weighing 30 lbs. each and ready to be mixed with epoxy and set into her bilge. I usually plan on casting about 75-85% of the anticipated ballast (in this case 600 lbs) before launching and then finish off the final ballasting after checking her trim in the water and re-assuring myself that the weight is located where it is most needed to keep her floating level and on her lines. That reminds me of a story, several years ago my long-term landlord at my main shop (which I have rented for 28 years now) told me one day just after we had launched a new boat, that one of the things that amazed him most of all about my designing and building boats was how accurately I could predict the floating of the boat level and on her lines. Well that was quite a compliment and I think that if I remember properly that I tried to pass it off as not being that hard to do! Within just a couple of weeks we had occasion to launch another new build (different design, one that we hadn’t built before) and the new vessel floated down on her lines by the stern. We had to add some (actually read quite a lot of) extra chain in her anchor locker to get her settled down on her lines (as designed). I often wondered if my landlord had somehow jinxed me by saying that they all floated on their lines so nicely, and having missed the mark on the very next boat project, the whole experience sobered me considerably. It should go without saying that on the next design I spent almost twice as much time as I usually did on the weight study trying to not make the same mistake twice.
But back to our musings about the “Litl Coot” – now that we’ve got the keels on her and the ballast settled, it’s time to think about that engine package. This is a pure 50/50 Motorsailor and on this size boat, I think the little 9.9 horsepower Yamaha 4 cycle engine in hi-thrust configuration is just about ideal. It’s a great little engine, barely sips fuel, is almost soundless at idle and will work on this design very well. But here I was confronted with a problem. With many small sailboats, if we make a centerline rudder and hang the outboard on some sort of scissoring bracket to one side of the stern, when sailing on the tack where the outboard is to the lee side, you will find the end of the lower unit of the outboard dragging in the water. There might be a couple of solutions to this problem, we could move the outboard closer to the centerline, but if we are not really careful then there is a really good chance that sooner or later you will hit the prop with the rudder while doing some short maneuvering in a docking or mooring situation. If you place the engine further away from the rudder you’ve exaggerated the problem of the drag of the lower unit and prop of the outboard (and I hate dragging something like that when trying to sail). So my solution for the “Litl Coot” was to place the motor on the centerline of the transom, and by using a long shaft outboard we will be able to keep the lower unit from dragging on the lee side tack (as there is no lee side to a centerline mounted engine) and both the motoring and the sailing will be without compromise. Now with the engine on the centerline that meant in order to be able to steer her under sail, I needed to find a way to either mount a rudder off the centerline or an even better solution was to use twin rudders that have tillers that tie together into a common link arm. The additional benefit of the twin rudders allowed them to not extend into the water quite as deeply as if I had used just a single rudder and conforms rather nicely with our requirement of being able to sit level and upright in grounding situations without any necessity to lift the rudders up or have some sort of swing blades on them. Once we joined the two tillers together into a single link arm then my next problem of how to allow an inside steering station to be rigged was easily assisted by having one common link with simple shackles made up to fixed lines (when desiring the inside steering station) and led through turning blocks to a fore and aft pivoting vertical tiller that will be fixed in the pilothouse on the starboard side. If I desire to steer from this inside station, I can sit in a comfortable seat on the starboard side facing forward and steer her by either pushing or pulling on the tiller. There is enough drag in this type of steering system to keep the helm steady for short periods of time if I needed to have her self steering while fixing a spot of tea or perhaps making a snack.
One of the main ideas with this design is that all functions could be done while sailing, or motoring, solo. There is room to take a buddy along but you don’t necessarily have to, in fact there might be a lot of days when just my dog “Bella” might be the perfect crew for an adventure on the “Litl Coot”. So all the halyards, topping lifts, etc. are lead aft to the sides of the pilothouse. With her little mizzen sail set up and left rigged most of the time either under sail or under power, she will have the wonderful capability to have a balanced helm under different wind and tacking conditions, and the mizzen would help to keep her steady on a mooring, or at anchor when holed up for a rest.
For easy and quick set up when launching from trailer I designed a tabernacle hinged Mainmast setting a rig that I would call a Cat Yawl (although under some definitions this might also be described as a Cat Ketch, the mizzen being stepped ahead of the rudders) configuration. This style of rig keeps the sail area where it is needed for balance under sail and is a very simple to use, with literally no re-sheeting necessary as one tacks from board to board. With the process of rigging the Mainmast simply being a matter of rotating up the mast in its tabernacle, set up the forestay on the bail above the Stainless Steel anchor roller up on the bow, and insert a pin into the bottom of the tabernacle and you are ready to launch. Keeping the mast up in the eyes of the boat also allowed me to have a top hinged window on the front of the pilothouse for sailing or motoring on warm days. This allows lots of wind in the face but reduces the chance of getting too much sun on my already overly exposed face, if I choose to be inside in the shade of the pilothouse.
So we now have a boat that can sit on a trailer, fit in a normal sized garage for berthage when we aren’t using her, an inside and outside steering arrangement, a couple of berths for doing some simple cruise/camping, and one that will sail or motor at a fairly efficient level whether the wind is blowing or not. And did I add that she is towable behind most of the small-to-mid sized SUVss or Pickups? She also is a boat that will allow me to explore the really shallow and fringe cruising areas that more conventional sailboats with their deep keels can’t even think about sailing in. I can sail her either on my own or with crew, but again all systems and setup can be done on my own if that is the way I choose to use her. In final expression I have found the “Litl Coot” to be absolutely beguiling during her design stages and my armchair cruises have been wonderful, built around her platform. My best guess is that her real life adventures might be just as good or better, and that adds a lot of spice to my life, just the ticket for a modern, busy world!
Amateur plans are $195 and consist of 16 drawings printed on 24X36 inch paper and a simple building booklet. You can either buy printed sets of plans directly from us or buy a download version and print on your own. We are now producing basic hull kits for her or we could build you the whole boat if you would like, and very soon I look forward to seeing many of these little Cat Yawls on the water. — Sam Devlin
As always, if you have any questions about orders (past or present), don’t hesitate to get in touch!
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Here are 13 good full keel sailboats that are worth considering: Nicholson 32. Island Packet 380. Folkboat 25. Cape Dory 36. Vancouver 32. Freya 39. Wylo 2. Tradewind 33.
Modern keel designs favor fin keels, with the high-performance boats using bulbs with narrow chord sections and deep drafts. Very few full keel designs are being built today, but there is a huge secondary market of used boats with full keels. Many ocean sailors swear by them and love their full keeled boats. There are reasons they love them.
With its full keel, round stern, lapstrake fiberglass hull, solid bulwarks and extended anchor roller and bow pulpit, the Nor'Sea 27 is a salty looking classic. ... is a fine example of a late '70s-early '80s moderate displacement, long fin keel, center cockpit sailboat, with roomy accommodations below and good sailing performance in any ...
MODERN ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF FULL KEEL BLUEWATER SAILBOATS: Aesthetics, robustness of structure, and bullet-proof reputation are the characteristics of the full keel design that molded my confidence to build/own one as a young naval architect drawing boats between the age of 12 to 23 before actually purchasing a Cape George 31 bare hull in 1991 ...
To highlight how these boat design principles play out, Practical Sailor looks at classic sailboats such as the Bill Shaw-designed Pearson 32, Ericson 41, Valiant 40, and Peterson 44, and compares their keel/sail ratios and lead values to more modern sailboat designs such as the Catalina, Hunter, Tartan, and Beneteau. ****.
Vancouver 28. Photo credit: YachtFathom.co.uk. A sensible small boat with a "go-anywhere" attitude, this pocket cruiser was designed with ocean sailors in mind. One of the best cruising sailboats under 40 feet, the Vancouver 28 is great sailing in a small package. Hull Type:Full keel with transom hung rudder.
For almost 20 years, we've called this awards program SAIL Best Boats, but this year, we're refining and renaming this program to better and more fairly represent the boats we've selected. Restricting boats to categories and labels—such as Best Cruising Monohull 30-40 feet and Best Performance Monohull 40-50 feet—doesn't bring our readers the full picture.
They don't go to windward as well as modern keel designs. Full keel boats tend to have less interior volume. Modern keel designs have shown up the full keel on sailing performance. If you plan to race your boat, a full keel is a terrible choice. Many cruisers still prefer the better upwind and straight-line performance of fin-type keels.
Stocked with sophisticated systems and upscale accommodations, the Hylas H57 is a bluewater winner. During and in the four days immediately following the US Sailboat show in Annapolis, Maryland, the Cruising World judges inspected and sailed on 27 boats vying for recognition. Learn more about the boats in our 2022 Boat of the Year ».
Prior to 1980 all Ted's designs were based on the traditional full keel. By the mid 80's our keels evolved into a modified full keel by employing the Brewer Bit (first designed by Ted Brewer). Essentially it was a full keel design with a large section cut away in front of the rudder. This still provided complete protection for the rudder ...
With these considerations in mind, here are my picks—five top choices for affordable bluewater cruising sailboats (in alphabetical order). Caliber 40 LRC. The Caliber 40 design appeared in 1991 and through its evolution into the 40 LRC, remains a very attractive cutter. It has a fully encapsulated, elongated fin keel, and the ballast to ...
Keel bolts and the infamous garboard seam are completely eliminated. This approach to sailboat keel design dates back to the Rhodes Bounty II and other prototypes in the production world of sailboats. Now over 50 years old, many of these boats continue to have a tenacious grasp on the lead or iron that they hold.
Allures 51.9 price: €766,000. The Ovni 370 is another cunning new aluminum centreboard offering, a true deck saloon cruiser for two. The designers say the biggest challenge was to create a ...
Fin Keel (and variants like bulb keels and wing keels): Fin keels are far and away the most common keel type on today's modern cruising sailboats. I suspect this is because they generally offer good sailing performance and can be had in enough variations to fit many needs.
The Rustler 57 has the option of being fitted with a lifting keel. Its 2.0 (6ft 8in draft makes her a more versatile cruising yacht. In the centre of the keel is a bronze fin that has a chord as wide as the depth of the lead stub. When the blade is retracted, the yacht only draws 2.0m / 6ft 8in and she still sails well.
Other more recent entries in this sub-genre include Marshall Marine's catboat line, Com-Pac Yacht's Picnic Cat and Sun Cat, Bauteck Marine's Bauer line, the NorseBoat 12.5 and 17.5, and the Crabber 17, 22 and Shrimper at the small end of the Cornish Crabber line.. And let's not forget that quirkiest of boats, the Melonseed skiff, built by the Crawford Boat Building company.
There are various keel designs, each with specific advantages and disadvantages. For instance, full keels provide better stability and tracking, making them a popular choice for long-distance cruisers. On the other hand, fin keels enable sharper turns and quicker reactions, which appeal to racers and those seeking a more nimble experience.
Captains often report that full-keel boats are harder to maneuver in tight places such as marinas. Full-keel boats lack quick maneuverability. ... A hydrofoil is a unique and modern type of racing sailboat. A hydrofoil can be a monohull, catamaran, or trimaran. A hydrofoil has wing-like foils on the hull's underside.
The Frances 26 is a 1980s Chuck Paine designed double-ender. This eye-catching small double-ender was designed by Californian Chuck Paine in the mid-1980s but built in the UK by Victoria Marine. It's an ideal short-handed boat, with accommodation to match, along with sufficient displacement to give the solid feel that many long-keel ...
Even blue water cruisers (eg. Amel) aren't made with full keels. Most of the inventory seems to be 70s-90s sailboats. Island Packets have a full keel with a cutaway forefoot, I don't know if you'd count that. They're sailed all around the world and the company really prides themselves on their keel design.
The most common sailboat keel types are full-length keels, fin keels, bulb keels, wing keels, bilge keels, and lifting keels. Full keels are popular among cruisers, while fin keels are generally used for racing. Bilge keels and lifting keels are typically used in tidal waters, on small fishing boats for example.
Full Keel Sailboats. Although full keels are by far the least efficient design, they offer incredible strength and versatility. ... The fin keel is, by far, the most common type in modern sailboats. A fin keel is a flat, narrow and hydrodynamic piece located under the hull. Unlike the running keel, it is not an integral part of it but is ...
Devlin Boats, Sailboats. The Lit'l Coot 18 Full Keel is a is seaworthy and capable motorsailor with enough space on board for the organized sailor and enough potential to keep serious travelers satisfied. She is the sister to the original Lit'l Coot with the same hull and the same tendency for balanced performance and maximal use of space ...