Skip Gundlach wrote:

As to performance, since I'm not afraid of a deeper draft, shoal isn't the
issue.

Draft is always a key issue in cruising.


But if a Scheel gives the same performance as a deeper draft, having
a deeper draft to begin with would make the performance that of a
deeper-still draft.

Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Especially with a slow heavy boat. It's most
likely that there would be no measurable difference in this boat's sailing
performance between the Scheel and regular keels.


.... the ballast seems so small (and the more I research, the less
definitive the answers get, but it seems to be somewhere between 6 and 8.4k
out of 30 displaced, which I consider either minimal or criminal, depending
on the number), and with as big a boat as it is (244 D/L @ 30k), the
addition of a couple thousand pounds shouldn't notably affect performance,
but it might well make it stiffer. If I could add performance (the desired
side effect), that would be great.

If the ballast/disp ratio is only 28% then you'd have to add a lot to make any
difference, and this would make the boat heavier & slower yet. Although every
little bit helps when the boat is at 90 degrees

It sounds to me like you've found a boat that meets your needs room-wise and are
now beginning to wonder about it's sailing performance. There's no such thing as
a Perfect Boat... if you want it all, you have to take extreme measures like
Glenn A. who is building his own.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King