"mmc" wrote in message
ng.com...

"Edgar" wrote in message
I don't understand your preference for swing keel in shallow water,
unless we are not talking about the same thing. To me, a swing keel is
what the deep ocean racers have, with a heavy bulb at the bottom that can
be swung to one side to provide better stiffness on a long tack. In
restricted shallow water that would be useless since when you tack there
would be insufficient water to swing the keel down and hoist it up the
other side.

We're talking about the same thing. I've always understood a swing keel as
the as the type that is drawn in a arc (pivoting on a pin at the top) into
a trunk, either under the boat or inside the cabin as in the Freedoms.
But then, I could have been using the wrong terminology for a long time
now!
I beleive the term for a type you describe that pivots side to side is
"Canting Ballast".

Ah yes. We are talking about the same thing, which I call a centreboard.
That is surely the right way to go if you want shallow water capability with
good windward performance when depth of water allows.
Never heard the term 'canting ballast' although once heard it is self
explanatory, but that is what I have always regarded as a 'swing keel'.