Scott,

Re: comments on my profile. It's true fin keels require more careful engineering, but full keels are not inherently stronger as they are normally constructed in a fiberglass boat, particularly with an encapsulated keel.

All keels require transverse and longitudinal framing at the keel to transfer loads into the hull structure. This is rarely done on full keeled boats so there is a lot of flexure in the bilge area of the boat which leads to a weakening through fatigue.

Fin keel boats by their very nature require sturdy transverse framing. What's confusing is people often compare full-blown racing fin keel boats (with very low safety margins) to full keel cruising boats. Full keeled boats are not being built to a less arbitrary standard. It is more that most full keel boats are built without any benefit of engineering and are built for cruising and so tend to have weight ignored at the price of vessel safety and carrying capacity.

Respectfully,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,


I sure have enjoyed, and been rewarded by, your writing over the past few years.

You wrote--approximately-- that peoples opinions of the proper bluewater cruiser is what should dictate whether one chooses a long keel, or a fin keel, and that a boat with one or the other does not give it an advantage over the other. (Rough approximation, now, I see.) But isn't a full keel inherently stronger? Aren't boats built with full keels more likely to be built to a strength standard that is less arbitrary, and by design, their keels more unified and, thus, protected?
I know that variables in the design and build could render a particular fin keeler more robust than a particular full keeler.

It just stands to (my) reason that a fin keel mount will experience more concentrated loading.

Scott