Show us your keel

I enjoy looking at and comparing the keels on different boats.

My boat has a full length keel (IP calls it a "full foil keel") and a large rudder that's hung quite a bit away from the prop. Not sure why-- most rudders I see are immediately behind the prop.

It doesn't back up well, but seems to track and steer well underway.

Just found this description of the "full foil keel". My "trawler" was adapted from a sailboat design, so that's why all this sounds like a sailboat description.

The Full Foil Keel was designer Bob Johnson's answer to a relatively new problem at the time. How to preserve the fine seakeeping and safety attributes of a traditional wine glass-shaped full keel while enhancing its performance and maneuverability like the newer fin keel shapes. Not wanting to give up on the benefits of a shoal draft, Bob took the modern 'U'-shaped performance underbody of the fin keel boats of the day and took its fin keel shape and essentially 'shortened and stretched it lengthwise,' giving it a longer cord length with less draft. The lateral surface area to maintain windward ability was still there, as was the tracking ability and the gentle ride of the more traditional full keel. Even better, with the balanced spade hung rudder protected by the keel, the maneuverability was improved over the traditional shapes, and the advantages of the protected propeller were gained.

Here is a shot of mine.

Here's ours.

Propeller protected as much as it can without building a cage around it. One of the top three criteria for the boat's selection.

Keel

Here's mine.
Draft 8 1/2 feet.

Ted

Ted said:

Here's mine.
Draft 8 1/2 feet.

Ted

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Yikes! 8 1/2 feet? That rules out a lot of waters here.

Yep! I've been following your your trips and realizing that it
is the wrong playground (water?) for me.
Ted

Ted-- holy shizzle 8.5' !! (And I think your rudder is missing)

Mark-- what does your boat draw ?

Oliver-- I want that boat when y'all are done updating it. ?

Heron-- nice looking boat!

Bob Cofer-- that's a nice big rudder!

Windmill-- interesting that you have the long shaft coming out of the keel.

cardude01 said:

Mark-- what does your boat draw ?

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Allegedly, three feet and eight inches.

cardude01 said:

Ted-- holy shizzle 8.5' !! (And I think your rudder is missing)

Click to expand...

It's there, view is directly at trailing edge.
Plate steel with angle flare aft.
Ted

Couple of pics of the dive boat and the trawler:

On the hard for the winter.



Fresh paint and Prop Speed, heading to the water.



Freshly sand blasted bottom.



Getting ready for paint.




Ted

Main and small bilge keels with fresh paint to and including the boots stripe after sandblasting to spec 5 last Fall. Fresh start for a steel hull 30 years on.

And one more.

42" draft.

probably going to have to soda blast or other when hauled next. Usually get 3 years between.

Here's Willy in Craig. With some fresh red on her butt.

Badger's dirty bottom, then freshly painted;

klee wyck said:

Main and small bilge keels with fresh paint to and including the boots stripe after sandblasting to spec 5 last Fall. Fresh start for a steel hull 30 years on.

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Wow. Serious keel and rudder. Nice.

A few pictures of Tidahapah before and after haul out.
These were taken just before I stepped the masts.

cardude01 said:

Ted-- holy shizzle 8.5' !! (And I think your rudder is missing)

Mark-- what does your boat draw ?

Oliver-- I want that boat when y'all are done updating it. ��

Heron-- nice looking boat!

Bob Cofer-- that's a nice big rudder!

Windmill-- interesting that you have the long shaft coming out of the keel.

Click to expand...

Look closer! It's not coming out the keel, I have twins.

Here's a better shot of the port side.

I drilled a hole for the P shaft in the rudder. Instead of covering it w a zinc I bolted the cut-out back in using 3 small carriage bolts w short nuts. Hope it dosn't come loose and rattle. Prolly shoulda had it welded but this was quick and easy.

MurrayM said:

Badger's dirty bottom, then freshly painted;

Click to expand...

Just finished a haulout here in Campbell River. All the wash water must be retained and treated by a new system. I was not permitted to do the washing, it is done by a yard hand. All scrapings of anti-foul paint must also be retained and disposed of in landfill. That, I was allowed to do. I suppose Kitimat does not have a travel lift?
Here's my keel, 3'6" draft.

Survey pics on Sandpiper

Views of bottom during survey. I'm told the prop tunnels result in a flatter shaft angle that is more efficient, thus allowing smaller (HP) engines that attain the same speeds as a hull with no tunnels. There are other similar sized vessels with Yanmar 480s & 500s that attain faster speeds with conventional bottom configurations. My boat, however, has Yanmar 440s so it's not an apples to apples comparison with those other boats. We shall see!

Codger, that's definitely the most interesting setup I've seen so far.

Didn't Nils Lucander design some hulls similar to this but with twin keels, or am I dreaming ?

Prop pockets are common on most sportfishermans today, for the reasons above and the lessened draft.