Sea change... Part II

Britt Ward and the Farr Yacht Design team continue their examination of the emerging issues surrounding canting-keel technology

In last month's issue we looked at the substantial performance benefits afforded by canting keels and outlined some of the many design issues and trade-offs that are considered in the design of these boats.

All these performance enhancements do not come without some risk and in this monthıs article we review the stability characteristics of canting-keel boats and how they compare to conventional-keeled models. We will also review the current status of stability regulations for canting-keel designs and present how changing various design variables can have an impact on stability characteristics.

The recent high-profile keel failures in the Sydney to Hobart and Vendée Globe races have focused attention on the structural design of appendages, their attachments and the mechanical systems associated with actuating canting keels; we will also discuss some of the pertinent design issues in these areas.

To read the remainder of this and many other topical technical articles, please purchase your copy of the June 2005 edition of Seahorse International Sailing, available at selected newsstands or by calling: + 44 (0) 1590 671899 or by email at: info@seahorse.co.uk

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Narrow boat, wrong-way keel... the maxZ86 Pyewacket in Antigua. Even with a professional crew and on a nice sunny day, get it wrong and a top canting keel design can still experience a knockdown... all this while sailing gently upwind!