Twin keel boats

[Troll Hunter]

Hi, looking for opinions on twin keel boats. It seems in England they are called bilge keel. Such as the Westerly Konsort. Pros and cons. Thanks.

[waterdog]

Originally Posted by Troll Hunter

Hi, looking for opinions on twin keel boats. It seems in England they are called bilge keel. Such as the Westerly Konsort. Pros and cons. Thanks.

I had a Snapdragon 26 with an outboard in a well. Father in law bought it new from Thames Marine in 1968. Very solid seaworthy boat. Somewhat rolly. Great for gunkholing. Very honest boat with a thick layup. Skeg-hung rudder and tiller. Roomy inside. Great first boat.

Pros:

sturdy
simple
inexpensive
shallow draft
beachable

Cons:

performance
outboard powered
older (1968)

[boatman61]

Just brought a 62ft Laurent Giles design bilge keeler from St Martin to E Spain..
She weighed in at 47tons yet still managed 6kts in 12 knots of wind.. so performance is not the problem.. with the wind aft of 55degrees off the bow they're as near fast as most and on a broad reach faster.. I've sailed Hurley 22's and Corribee's both bilge and single keeled and a bilge will hold its own except upwind.
Easy maintaining the hull and prop.. also any other work like new skin fittings, anodes etc.. oh..!! and antifouling.
I'd happily own another.. not into self flagellation so usually motor upwind anyway.. all this tacking up the Portuguese coast is for cheapskates and idiots..

[Adelie]

Twin or bilge keels are primarily an advantage in areas with very large tidal changes and large areas of water that go dry or get thin. The British Isles qualify.

At anchor the boat takes the ground and sits upright rather than laying over on its side when the tide goes out. The problem is not the boat laying over but coming to rest in a position where it won't flood when the tide comes back in.

If you are going to sail the boat off a mooring you will want to consider the tidal range, depth of water and exposure to wind and current.

If the boat will sailed out of a marina that doesn't go dry or shallow there may not be a reason to get a twin/bilge keel boat.


A house is but a boat so poorly built and so firmly run aground you would never try to refloat it.

[Stumble]

Generally they trade speed and windward ability for shallow draft and the ability to dry out easily. In the right place they are a fantastic option, in others not so much.

One of the major downsides is that if there is a single rudder it is very exposed to flotsam that gets pulled under the hull, and the keels can aggrevate this by pulling trash in from the sides. The same is true of the prop, if it's on centerline it will be the first thing hit if you run over some trash and very exposed.

[waterdog]

Originally Posted by Stumble

Generally they trade speed and windward ability for shallow draft and the ability to dry out easily. In the right place they are a fantastic option, in others not so much.

One of the major downsides is that if there is a single rudder it is very exposed to flotsam that gets pulled under the hull, and the keels can aggrevate this by pulling trash in from the sides. The same is true of the prop, if it's on centerline it will be the first thing hit if you run over some trash and very exposed.

Is this based on experience or mythology? Never ever had a problem with fouled rudder or prop.