I guess to save money in construction long cruising keels like the 70s
Yachts are not popular motors with legs are quicker to install bolt on keels are quick and easy to fit
It's a bing bang boo world these days
Cost faster and quicker construction I guess

I think it's a bit market dependent. Compare boat classifieds here to the UK, where there's a lot more estuary sailing and harbours with huge tidal variation. You'll see heaps of twin/bilge keel boats there.

In Sydney at least, it's not really that important - we've got a nice deep harbour, so why not take advantage of the stability a deeper keel gives you? If not that, we're more likely to have a trailer sailor so as not to pay mooring/marina fees.

if i only wanted to sail on Sydney harbor (deep flat water day sailing ) i would own an mc 38 or something similar as a Queenslander especially Morton bay where if you haven't touched the bottom regularly your just not trying or for offshore narrower beam (smother ride in chop ) shoaler draft( tucking behind islands to get out of the roll )give me long keel heavy displacement any day
probably also why there are so many cats up here but the jerky ride and lack of windward ability , load carrying and price puts me off a bit
and i just don't like cruising cats

7and half foot shoal draft ??????

boty said..
7and half foot shoal draft ??????

I have no problems in Morton Bay including going down the inside to the Gold Coast with with that draft. The wire at Russel Island are more of a problem with an air draft of 85' .
31' Hanse shoal draft 4'6"
38' Hanse shoal draft 5'3"
And yes they do go to windward.
I sit on 8.2kn at 29deg app in 13kn of breeze. Not bad for a shoal draft boat, try and catch me.

Jode5 said..


I sit on 8.2kn at 29deg app in 13kn of breeze. Not bad for a shoal draft boat, try and catch me.

I bear witness to that. A powerful yacht is Jode 7. I loved sailing on her last Good Friday but I am not covetous to own such a yacht. Had I the wherewithal financially to own such a yacht I no doubt would but I would be thinking more along the lines of Shaggybaxter's "Pogo 42".

So here is a question for you Jode5. You have yet to do your 20th B2G race and Shaggy is considering his first. Are you going this year???

If so, I want to be on Fusion or Jode7.


P.S. I would love even more to be doing the race on Second Wind but there are too many jobs to be done on her to consider this year. I am hoping to do it next year.

My mate's shoal draught Adams at 0.7metres, points pretty well. Might be a few degrees difference to a highly strung zillion bucks race boat, but after all it is a Clydesdale instead of a Phar Lap.

The dagger board gave him some grief recently, this might be the reason this type of keel did not get more popular. Sails well, one can go around Moreton Bay, no worries, but it is next to a nightmare to antifoul or maintain.

The other Adams at 1.47metres, l managed to drag once coming down inside Bribie Island at night.

Last week l was told, 'gentlemen do not sail upwind'. The fellow is a multi hull enthusiasts...

Hi Bluemoon my understanding the reason there are not many shoal draft boats ,because most younger
cruisers want to get there yesterday not tomorrow. l.o.l .People want to go fast so they prefer to buy tupperware ,
boats when they run aground ever how slight it maybe ,then realize that they have a problem,and that usually
means a haul out as the keel has come loose or the rudder is hung in a way that any object struck is usually
going to strike it. I dare say I will cop some flack over my comments just matter of what one really prefers also
having shoal draft means that you get access a lot more places. My first post dare say will properly will set tongues wagging.
Have a good day to all fellow sailors. Cheers

andy59 said..
I only have one word to say on this subject:
Pogo
Why dont more modern yachts use this system???
It's the best of both worlds

Do you mean the Pogo canting keel system? I'd have thunked it would be a bit fragile in some situations and complicated, no? Personally, I hate using motors to charge batteries or move ballast.

Even a canting keel mono is really slow up against a comparable multi, so some of us just prefer the simple option. My boat lives in a river with a depth of 1m at low water over the bar so if we move to a bigger boat we'll probably get a centreboarder, but I have yet to see one that doesn't intrude into the accommodation.

Chris 249 said...

andy59 said..
I only have one word to say on this subject:
Pogo
Why dont more modern yachts use this system???
It's the best of both worlds

Do you mean the Pogo canting keel system? I'd have thunked it would be a bit fragile in some situations and complicated, no? Personally, I hate using motors to charge batteries or move ballast.

Even a canting keel mono is really slow up against a comparable multi, so some of us just prefer the simple option. My boat lives in a river with a depth of 1m at low water over the bar so if we move to a bigger boat we'll probably get a centreboarder, but I have yet to see one that doesn't intrude into the accommodation.

Hi Chris
I meant the Pogo swing keel like Shaggy's Pogo 12.50. It's a brilliant system.
Welcome Ashanti

There is nothing quite like having a yacht that will power to windward.

They say that gentlemen do not sail to windward but certainly determined sailors do.

Not many around...maybe the older Australian yachts were built with racing in mind, hence to have a shoal draft was a handicap!

nswsailor said..
Not many around...maybe the older Australian yachts were built with racing in mind, hence to have a shoal draft was a handicap!

my X brother in law winning races on Handicap NSW a Top Hat

SandS said..

cisco said..

There is nothing quite like having a yacht that will power to windward.

They say that gentlemen do not sail to windward but certainly determined sailors do.

Yes i agree . There is nothing quite as good as beating to windward in a moderate breeze ! LOVE IT !!!

Its almost like a form of meditation , as the concentration level needed to stay on the breeze is tremendous in some shifty situations .

some fin keelers will actually trac to windward for a long time in flat water with no pressure on the rudder at all when the sails are set up spot on . when this happens , ITS GROUSE !!!!!

Yep, philosophers of sport have actually coined the word (ilinx) for the joyful feeling we get from getting "out of balance" when we are doing sports. Sailing a good boat to windward at the fastest angle of heel (whether it is a dinghy, keelboat, fast tri or small cat) is huge fun.

I have some friends who have lived aboard their boat since the mid '80s. They have done something like 200,000 offshore miles including months in Alaska and weeks around Cape Horn, been British offshore racing yacht of the year about 7 times, won their class in the Fastnet about 7 times, won their class in the Hobart the only time they did it, won the biggest NZ race, and they will happily leave NZ and sail upwind for weeks on end to go cruising. Many other sailors do the same thing....this whole "gentlemen don't sail to windward" thing is rubbish. Sure, sensible sailors may not beat down from FNQ against the trades by choice, but sometimes it's not just necessary but also fun.

Well thank you fellow sailors for the welcome to the site, seems that I have set some tongues wagging,just a matter of
opiinon . Each to there own . hope all have fair wind and smooth seas to sail apond. Cheers.