Good Old Boats-Overbuilt?

[thomm225]

So I have my Bristol 27 on the hard again, and I noticed that it has the beefiest keel on the whole lot.

I guess that's what they mean by overbuilt!

On top of that, this is the first time the boat has been out of the water in 4 years, and it's looking pretty good with no real hull problems. I put almost 2 coats of Micron CSC on in March 2015

[Don C L]

A beefy keel contest! I'm in! Actually, as with most things, one must always ask, "compared to what?" For me, that long beefy keel (and rudder attached) are just two more things I don't think about, wonder about or worry about... things that are largely a matter of my shoestring budget and a family aboard.. not just a nostalgic longing for the good ol' days...
hmmm overbuilt.. what do we gain and what do we lose with our overbuilt keels? For some of us the pros outweigh the cons... but I am really not that disappointed at all with my beefy keel's performance compared to ubiquitous bolt-on. And clearly we are able to run hard aground, wait for the tide and then sheepishly, or brazenly, proclaim, "Yeah, I meant to do that!" without much more than a scratch to the bottom paint. And we can smugly lift the cabin sole to display our rust free, and often dry, bilge where bolt heads should be found.....
BTW here is my boat and my buddy's Cheoy Lee Luders 30.. we're right there with ya pal! Ah the days when the underside was as much a work of art as the rest of the boat...

[thomm225]

Nice pictures! (I'm just glad to be almost through with the sanding)

I guess some on a shoestring budget might go with a good old boat but some of us regardless of budget just cannot seem to part with one once we buy one and sail it for a while.....

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I guess some on a shoestring budget might go with a good old boat but some of us regardless of budget just cannot seem to part with one once we buy one and sail it for a while.....

Shhh! Don't give away our secret! We have to keep up the "old boat, don't sail well, lots of issues and problems!" mantra!
BTW kind of off on a tangent, but there was a boat built in the SF bay that, when it came out, when I was a kid, received a lot of acclaim for its remarkable sailing ability in spite of its long, beefy keel. There weren't many built and I have never seen one for sale, but if I do.......
It's the Nor'West 33:
Where are Shawn and Chris?: Nor'West 33, Hull #10, Tao
I wonder if anyone out there has one??

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Shhh! Don't give away our secret! We have to keep up the "old boat, don't sail well, lots of issues and problems!" mantra!
BTW kind of off on a tangent, but there was a boat built in the SF bay that, when it came out, when I was a kid, received a lot of acclaim for its remarkable sailing ability in spite of its long, beefy keel. There weren't many built and I have never seen one for sale, but if I do.......
It's the Nor'West 33:
Where are Shawn and Chris?: Nor'West 33, Hull #10, Tao
I wonder if anyone out there has one??

Nice looking boat!

[KJB]

I'll add mine into the mix...True, its a bolt on, but its an external lead ballast that weighs 5.5 tons. The bottom of the keel is a foot across. One off built in 1980. Strip plank construction.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by KJB

I'll add mine into the mix...True, its a bolt on, but its an external lead ballast that weighs 5.5 tons. The bottom of the keel is a foot across. One off built in 1980. Strip plank construction.

Those Mason sailboats are always an eye catcher especially when on the hard. Beautiful boats!

[Pete7]

These long keeled yachts, what happens when the water goes out, do they fall over? wouldn't it be better to have two keels so when you run aground the boat stands upright?

Originally Posted by Don C L

And we can smugly lift the cabin sole to display our rust free, and often dry, bilge where bolt heads should be found.....

The problem with dry bilges is you have to lift the floor boards, hoover and then polish the bilges 4 times a year, takes ages ;-)

Pete

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Pete7

These long keeled yachts, what happens when the water goes out, do they fall over? wouldn't it be better to have two keels so when you run aground the boat stands upright?

The problem with dry bilges is you have to lift the floor boards, hoover and then polish the bilges 4 times a year, takes ages ;-)

Pete

When the water goes out over here, they sink down into the mud. I bought my boat at an off the grid marina way up a creek off the Chesapeake Bay. You could only come and go close to high tide. It was nice an stable though once in the mud a foot or 2!

On my old boat, I don't usually have to worry about a dry bilge unless it's in Summer and it hasn't rained much.

[SV Siren]

A beefy keel contest..LOL. My fat bottomed girl comes in at 16" at the skinniest, and goes to 24" as you work your way up...no bolts, as she has 14,600 lbs. encapsulated.

Pete7: it must be nice to be able to reach the bottom of your bilge to clean it. Even with my engine out, and me laying in the bilge(3' deep), I cannot touch the bottom of "The Pit" in my lowest part of my bilge.


All said and done, I love my dock crusher...although she did sustain some damage from a steel seawall some time in the past. Since repaired with layers of glass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber.
[IMG]Untitled by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/149370245@N08/][/IMG]

[markwesti]

A bit of Westsail folklore , after the first run of twenty or more of the Westsail 32's it was decided by the designer William Crealock that he had called for to thick of a hull lay up . So there was a meeting and it was decided to keep the lay up the same for if the word got out that they were making the hull thinner , they would be accused of cheaping out .