"Eisboch" wrote
Looking at the drawings of the sailboat in question, it looks like it may
have a swing keel.
I cropped and enlarged the bottom section of the drawing he

http://www.eisboch.com/keel.jpg


yep

I read up on swing keels on large yachts and they typically are retracted
with either cables or hydraulics.
The barrel appears to be located right over the aft section of the swing
keel (if that's what it is) and the "pipes" that appear to go from the
bottom of the barrel into the yacht interior might be cable guides.

So, maybe it houses a winch for retracting the keel?


That could well be it. From the photo, it looks like the
barrel is just tied down to a cradle, but that could be just
for effect.


The original picture of the deck "barrel" is he

http://www.eisboch.com/barrel.jpg



Steve P wrote:
This look like a Shpountz by Bombigher. You are probably right in that there
is a winch in the mock barrel on deck. That would fit the whimsy of
Bomgigher's designs.

He certainly did a LOT of work on pure aesthetics (and
expects his builders to, also). But his boats are very
carefully designed & engineered. Bombigher put a huge amount
of work into his designs.


What is the construction of the boat in question?

http://www.classic-yacht-design.com/...-40/38-40.html


I always enjoyed reading about & looking at pictures of his
designs, but they're just too abstract for me. Gorgeous, but
they're modelled after commercial & naval craft and finished
like gold-platers. Should be kept hermetically sealed
under a glass dome!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King