BYYB Forums

If one were starting a new Vacationer, what keel modifications would people (Paul!) recommend?

Dave

Well, off the top of my head, a self contained beer cooler would be high up on the list. Maybe a set of embedded razors on the leading edge, so you don't have to cut bait ever again. A glass bottom so you can find the outboard when it drops off the bracket, because you forgot to tighten it down.

Modifications generally attempt to address a function, possably improve a set of sailing qualities. The question should be, what do you want the keel to do? Some things a new keel can't fix, I'm still homely for example, in spite of the number of keels I'd massaged. Each keel I've done has been different then the previous one. All are attempts to satisfy specific issues. Most are retro fits, as you don't know what issues you have until you putter around a bit.

I'm thinking wings. Big 'ol honking hydrofoils, like the big boys use. Flying along, up on foils, the ride is soft, not slapping chop, no pounding unless you're hung over, great fun. 5 or 6 yards of Kevlar, maybe twice this in carbon. Yep, be the first to fly a Vacationer.

Dave, go into the gallery and look in Paul's section where you will find some alternative keel designs Paul worked up for a Weekender.  These mods are also applicable to the Vac.  While the addition of a center board is of dubious value the cut down keel is of better use for the Vac.  I think it is the second or third drawinf down that you want to look at.  This design improved handling especially in tacking.  Take a look then ask paul to give you the full story on the recommended change.  There is a lot that can be improved on the stock keel and ways to construct it that will provide for more rot resistant structure.  It is hard to answer an open ended question as can be seen from Pauls first answer to your question.  These boats were designed to meet certial critera that did always include longevity of the boat.  The vac can be thought of as a bigger Weekender so look at your plans for Molly and try to see wher the water intrusion points may be.  The laminated keel is an issue as is the mast partners.  Also note the absence of a cockpit drain.  A mast tabernacle is a must for rapid rigging a the dock.  Please review the drawings with the Vac in mind and go from there.  Many of the members boats are heavily modified to address design issues so reading back into the posts is a worthwhile endevor.  Dave we hae had a surge in mew members to the board in recent months so your questions may be the same as others are pondering.

Thanks, Craig and Paul.  I was reading Chris Gherkin's series on building a Vac.  He made the keel 14" deep through it's whole length.  In part this was to provide a way to have an inboard trolling motor.  I like that idea myself (the inboard motor), but I'm also looking at improving tack performance.  Perhaps something along the lines of Paul's 30 " draft keel.[attachment=1]

Dave

That drawing looks like the keel Paul designed for Jim Sanders over in Glendale.  So far Jim has never finished that boat so the handling issue is still open on that. Jim has a nice boat going, lots of great detail.  I hope he gets her done.

That keel was one of the possibilities I offered Dr. Jim. He had already mounted the trolling motor, So I was working around it. You'll also notice the transom rake is more severe, which was another one of Jim's modifications.

After a quick search, it seems Jim's old posts are now devoid of images. This is a shame as the keel looked good once he finished it up.



This is what was eventually decided on and what he did build. You can see the old keel profile and the new, traditional looking keel. This was a retro fit to the stock profile.

I don't recommend an electric trolling motor as the auxiliary propulsion for a Vacationer. Unless you employ a 36 VDC motor, you're not going to go very far, nor very fast. If you did, you'll have all the issues others attempting electric motors are having; no range without huge battery banks (read thousands of pounds of batteries) and limited speed. To push a Vacationer to hull speed reliably, the minimum would be a 375 pounds of thrust trolling motor. The biggest now available are about 100 pounds and to have a half a day of range at WOT, you need 2,000 pounds of batteries. Not to mention, by the time you count up controllers, charging systems, motors and batteries you spend three times as much as a 5 HP outboard.

Dave, Jim's 30" keel assumed he would leave it in the drink most of the time. Hauling around and launching something with 30" of draft, isn't easy. There are limited launch ramps that can handle this depth. Additional draft does improve tacking abilities, but it's really a combination of things that improve it.

Tacking a pointing ability aren't the hallmarks of a gaff sloop, particularly of this configuration. Things can be done to improve maneuverability, pointing, etc., but a well defined list of goals is necessary to target the modifications.