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Old 08-13-2011, 10:51 PM   #55
Edelweiss
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City: PNW
Vessel Model: 1976 Californian Tricabin LRC
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,860
RE: Cruising a twin screw Semi-displacement boat for minimum fuel consumption

It's all situational, if you have sandy bottoms then the keel is certainly a bonus. *Fishing in Alaska, we would power right over sandbars, sliding on the keel and lash side by side with another boat and allow the tide to run out from under us. *We would go high and dry on the keels resting on the sandy bottom until the tide came back in. You wouldn't do that on a hard bottom, the damage would be significant and might take your rudder shoe off.

The one time I actually touched bottom in my present boat (going into Fishermans Bay on Lopez Isl 25 years ago) fortunately I didn't have that extra two feet of Keel hanging under me to hook up on the granite bottom and leave me high and dry on an outgoing tide. *it wouldn't have been pretty*

Instead I motored into the bay on the other engine, rented a prop puller from OMC marine, scuba dove with the spare, replaced my damaged prop. I was out of there the next day. Total cost about $100 to have the prop straighted and balanced at HDF propeller.*
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