At MarsKeel Technology, our innovation runs as deep as the waters our vessels sail. We’ve worked on projects of all kinds, from custom keels for yachts to ballast system solutions for autonomous research vessels like the Saildrone Explorer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Our Technical Keel Specialist, Bill Souter, sat down with David Schmidt from Sail World to talk keels and what’s new in the industry. Read more below or visit Sail World for the full article.
Here’s a look at what Bill and David discussed:
What are the most popular production keels these days?
We are still producing a mixture of shoal draft and deep keels for our production builders.
Are most custom keels fixed or canting?
Virtually all of our custom keels are fixed or lifting keels. Canting keels are used on a tiny fraction of yachts and on the open-class racing yachts.
Does anyone still use wings on their keels?
I’m sure there are builders using wing keels still. Our production customers are moving away from wings to bulbs. For example, we assisted Catalina Yachts in changing three of their models to bulb keels. I was told it improved the stability, lowered the [yacht’s] center of gravity and improved boat speed.
In your mind, what’s the cutting edge for custom keels these days?
I don’t think there is a cutting edge for production builders. It is a balance between what engineering allows to be made and the needs of the yacht and the owner. The cutting edge will be in the high-performance custom keels.
Science [and] engineering are continuing to replace the “art” of many decades ago in the keel and yacht design process. This leads to faster and better products, keels, and yachts for both production and custom yachts.
As a follow-on to that last question, what’s the cutting edge for production or One Design keels? Is this mostly really tight QA/QC work to ensure that batch productions are all identical on the granular/individual level?
In terms of one design keels some builders want the keels templated to ensure they are as close as possible without going to the huge expense of CNC machining. Other builders require the keels to be hand faired. It is really a matter of what is sufficient for a particular class.
In terms of production keels, we always take great care to make the keel as designed. You need to understand that most production builders want good keels but at a reasonable price.
In terms of one-off keels, it is not the amount of care taken, it is the scope of work [that’s] very different from a production keel. The level of complication increases as you move away from simple all-lead castings, [and] more complex projects require more project management [that] involves looking for solutions to possible problems long before they arise, even as early as the pricing process.
You want to avoid concerns through the use of consultation and experience.
Visit Sail World Canada to read the full Q&A article with Bill Souter and learn more about our ballast-building operations and solutions.
Interested in exceptional keel solutions?
Visit our design page to discover how our design and engineering services can provide you with custom solutions. No matter the project, from ballast system designs to modification and repairs and mechanical system designs for canting and lifting keels, we’re ready to help you navigate the waters!