Keel Types and What They Say about Sailors
"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