twin keels; any bad reports?
gday
i'm interested in buying a 30ft grp twin keel yacht as a live aboard retirement option. i've spent most of my life in north australia where the tidal variation is over 8metres so the twin keel design seems very practical. does anyone have any advice/tips/gotchas for a novice sailor in this class. (offshore rig worker, handyman, old fart) thanks in advance bruce new zealand |
twin keels; any bad reports?
On Sat, 01 Nov 2003 11:24:38 +1300, root wrote:
gday i'm interested in buying a 30ft grp twin keel yacht as a live aboard retirement option. i've spent most of my life in north australia where the tidal variation is over 8metres so the twin keel design seems very practical. does anyone have any advice/tips/gotchas for a novice sailor in this class. (offshore rig worker, handyman, old fart) thanks in advance bruce new zealand You might get beter answers on the "uk.rec.sailing" newsgroup as bilge-keelers are more popular in the UK. Mark E. Williams |
twin keels; any bad reports?
root wrote in message ...
gday i'm interested in buying a 30ft grp twin keel yacht as a live aboard retirement option. i've spent most of my life in north australia where the tidal variation is over 8metres so the twin keel design seems very practical. does anyone have any advice/tips/gotchas for a novice sailor in this class. (offshore rig worker, handyman, old fart) thanks in advance bruce new zealand Bruce, put your question toi the "reader to reader" forum at ybw.com and you'll be snoed under the replies....The Brits have the largest pool of experience with twin keelers and there'll probably be quite a few who know the boat you're considering. john |
twin keels; any bad reports?
Westerly's are the primary lot and of them the Centaur is the most well
known. My own, under different owners, is the class record holder with two circumnavigations plus under the keel. That's a 26' hull. My new one is the Berwick at 31' LOD. Here's some of the things to watch for. a. they don't point as high as single keel boats but similar to full keel boats. In light airs it's easier to 'wear ship' than tack across. b. The draft is less when upright and more when heeled. Also the righting moment drastically increases when heeled. The Westerly's are damn near impossible to broach. c. They don't go near as fast as similar waterline lengths but they are more comfortable. If you get 'wave slap' between the keels you are going to fast reef down. d. They surf great! e. Some, mine own included, eventually get keel bolt leaks. You have to inspect this and occasionally fix them over the years. The older one's did n't have stiffener sections built in the keel stub interior. Adding those solved a lot of keel bolt problems. e. There's no bilge to speak of. f. Some, like the Westerly's are blue water capable, some are not. g. They are GREAT for shallow water, canals, and gunkholing. For the rest follow advice of the others or contact for Twin Keeler Newsletter. He's in Chicago, USA. Michael |
twin keels; any bad reports?
root wrote:
gday I have "owned - been owned by" my Westerly 22 more than ten years ( and an Albin 25 ): She loves 'small craft warnings' and, in those moments, looks for multihulls to toy with... A gentleman wrote me, '...change the cockpit drain hoses, they can sink your boat. I know.' These hoses were getting rotty looking and felt strange. Changed those hoses and six chiro- practic sessions later, I am OK. Twin keels are good for drying out on sandy beaches, trailers and such. Boulders and large rocks seem likely to hole the unwary - look around while the water drains out. A mahogany skeg can be badly damaged by rocks and moorings, I know. Do not even think of anchoring where the water is thin, no matter what the local know it alls say, until you have checked your landing spot with your own eyes. And thought seriously about what you have seen. Live and learn, or drown. ( Thank you, RAH ) It is time for me to check chainplates and all rigging. Try to styrene melt my 3 section masthead light together. Replace a sail, upgrade winches, make better anchor mounts ( CQR35, Danforth40 and Fortress14. ) And fabricate singlehander mast stepping hardware. Twin keel Westerly boats put a lot of metal under the grp hull. Lightning could be a problem. I need to run a very heavy cable, without bends, to a keel. I need to rethink my Dynaplate sintered bronze radio ground. I have read that they boil water explosively when carrying a lightning strike. A large hole is blasted into the under- water hull..... I will consider a larger Westerly, Valiant or whichever, if I decide to cruise. I do know that a slower boat needs more consumables, period. Good luck, Bligh (Bill) (Captain) |
twin keels; any bad reports?
root wrote:
gday I have "owned - been owned by" my Westerly 22 more than ten years ( and an Albin 25 ): She loves 'small craft warnings' and, in those moments, looks for multihulls to toy with... A gentleman wrote me, '...change the cockpit drain hoses, they can sink your boat. I know.' These hoses were getting rotty looking and felt strange. Changed those hoses and six chiro- practic sessions later, I am OK. Twin keels are good for drying out on sandy beaches, trailers and such. Boulders and large rocks seem likely to hole the unwary - look around while the water drains out. A mahogany skeg can be badly damaged by rocks and moorings, I know. Do not even think of anchoring where the water is thin, no matter what the local know it alls say, until you have checked your landing spot with your own eyes. And thought seriously about what you have seen. Live and learn, or drown. ( Thank you, RAH ) It is time for me to check chainplates and all rigging. Try to styrene melt my 3 section masthead light together. Replace a sail, upgrade winches, make better anchor mounts ( CQR35, Danforth40 and Fortress14. ) And fabricate singlehander mast stepping hardware. Twin keel Westerly boats put a lot of metal under the grp hull. Lightning could be a problem. I need to run a very heavy cable, without bends, to a keel. I need to rethink my Dynaplate sintered bronze radio ground. I have read that they boil water explosively when carrying a lightning strike. A large hole is blasted into the under- water hull..... I will consider a larger Westerly, Valiant or whichever, if I decide to cruise. I do know that a slower boat needs more consumables, period. Good luck, Bligh (Bill) (Captain) |
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