Sail Far Live Free

"Let's talk about keels.  That is always a sure way to get someone's knickers in a twist."  - Bob Perry, Sailboat Designer A discussion about keel types is always fun among a group of cruising sailors, particularly in a cockpit while sharing sundowners.  Everyone has a preference and most keel types have a unique forte. I'm not going to dig too deep into design and technical aspects of keels since Bob Perry already covered that thoroughly in the guest post he did for me awhile back ( Keel Design According to Perry ).  What I am going to do here is briefly talk about each of the keel types I'm aware of for cruising sailboats and hit on some pluses and minuses as well as provide an example or two of specific boats for each keel type. But first, what does your keel say about you? The full keel calmly and confidently says "I like the journey more than the destination and am in no hurry to get there". "I feel the need for speed!" rem...

"Go ahead and love your crab crusher full keel boat but don’t try to justify the design on technical terms. Some traditional full keel designs have a lot of subjective, aesthetic appeal. That’s good enough reason to love your boat." -Bob Perry (see below) I share a lot of my own sailing-related experiences and ponderings here on my blog, but occasionally I have the opportunity to share the perspective and experiences of some real experts. Today I'm pleased to welcome Bob Perry back as a guest blogger [Read Bob's prior contributions to SailFarLiveFree about double-enders and  sailboat rigs ]. It seems keels are often debated on sailing blogs and forums, so rather than rehash those stale discussions, I asked Bob if he'd share his unique design perspective on the diversity of keel types available for cruisers. Graciously, he obliged. What follows is a guest blog post and photos Bob provided to me. Keel Design According to Perry , by Bob Perry "Le...