[C320-list] fin vs. wing keel

[Rick Evans]

Just going to quickly chime in.

I have one of the few 6'3" Fin keels on the East coast especially in the
western LI sound.

I have raced against the Wing keel. My boat points about 5 to 10 degrees
higher and is much faster up wind. Down wind the Wing Keel Often caught me,
I believe due to less wetted area and a slight weight advantage.

As anything in any boat there are pros and cons weigh them and you have
your answer.

I bought my wing for a few reasons:

   1. I got it way under market value I believe a major factor was because
   the Fin keel is less desirable in my area
   2. I race my boat more than I cruise and she is a rocket ship up wind. I
   am still playing with every single trick to get her to move down wind.
   3. Racing was more important than cruising.

In short if I had no intention of racing I would probably have gone with a
wing keel.

Rick
724


On Fri, Nov 4, 2011 at 12:03 PM, Gene Helfman <genehelfman at gmail.com> wrote:

> Many thanks to all of you for your input on fin vs. wing keels.  Our first
> impression is people love their 320s, regardless.  This affirms our
> interest in the design.  Second, we have rethought our decision with more
> regard to where we go and what is required.  Shallower draft has been an
> issue primarily during haulout, something we should be able to work around.
>  Otherwise, our cruising here in the PNW is to destinations with lots of
> water.  Our one grounding (so far) involved anchoring and miscalculating
> water depth under our 4'10" keel at low tide (ok, and drifting over a rock
> as tide went out), something that would have put us on the bottom with even
> less draft.
>     Bottom line (forgive the pun): we are broadening our search to include
> fin keel models, which expands the market considerably.
>
> gene
> --
> Gene Helfman, Professor Emeritus
> Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
> PERMANENT address:
>    498 Shoreland Dr., Lopez Is., WA 98261
>    (360) 468-2136
>    genehelfman at gmail.com
>
> "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day,
> Teach a man to fish and he'll deplete the
>      oceans."
>
> The Book of Bob, Ironies 24:7
>



-- 
*Rick Evans | IM: XNTRK55 | Cell 646.431.7562 *