swing keels :pros and cons

[souljour2000]

I have a 20-foot Hunter with a 400-lb iron keel and a 1700 lb displacement that I sail in southwest Florida's Sarasota bay and the Gulf where there's alot of sandy shoals. I have sailed her a bit now and with my 18-inch keel-up draft I tend to stay out of the channels alot and skim the shallows when I can to keep my rhumb lines and avoid powerboat wakes in the channels.. I have found that I don't really bother to lower the swing keel very much...even working upwind sometimes. When I am in strong winds...I tend to feel that my boat has more drag with the keel down and so I tend to leave it up and reduce sail a bit or monitor the helm more closely.
What I am wondering I guess is am I correct in my hunch about the drag being greater when the keel is down and one has added pennant drag ?...It varies from boat to boat of course but does anyone else have an opinion on their swing keel and when they find it most useful? Fighting off a lee shore is probably the only time I use it it all.
In connection to all of this is that I am considering encapsulating it in fiberglass in the up position and adding a bit of a skeg behind it in the process to add some more weight down low and give some more tracking ability. This will affect the balance of the rig but I'm willing to bet I can tweak any tendencies that will arise or be able to live with the ones I can't. One reason I have for this idea is that the keel bolts were not drilled well at the factory and so I will have to do some major repairs next time they get loose or opt for the keel encapsulation in the up position. Getting that iron keel out of the salt and "out of my hair" might be the way to go...I appreciate greatly any thoughts on this rambling dissertation .....

[gonzo]

I find it hard to believe you don't see any difference sailing upwind with or without the board down. Don't you notice the leeway angle increasing? What do you mean the keel bolts were not drilled well at the factory?

[souljour2000]

having the board down all the way does help..but I think the added drag slows me even though the tracking is better and slippage lessened upwind....but being slower due to the drag exposes me longer to the wind's forces on each leg of the upwind tack so it seems almost a tradeoff...as for the factory problem with the bolts...they were drilled too close on one side to the reinforcement areas surrounding the daggerboard housing...the washers on one bolt have never been properly seated..being at a slight angle against the re-inforced area of fiberglass mat/resin....that bolt has loosened easily and often over the years due to the poor mounting and widened out the bolt-hole...I'm afraid to carve that area out as much as is needed to allow for a really good washer/backing plate installation......as it is of course. a high stress area.

The love of fine craftmanship was not necessarily involved in the making of these "inexpensive" boats

[alan white]

The only way to test the windward ability accurately is with a GPS. Leeway can be deceptive. Try to get a plot while going to weather with board up and then down.
In particular, shifting from board down to board up on each tack you'll see the angular difference. There's no way the boat could get much bite without the board down.
Of course the drag is greater with board down, and it is wise (though work) to crank it up when sailing off the wind. Drag (of the board and pendant) is more of an issue in light wind, but in a brisk wind there is zero difference at hull speed, except at least you can go to weather with the board down.
How you set the swing keel is a matter of where you sail, meaning wind strength varies from area to area. In general, you worry less about the board being down if it's blowing hard most of ther time where you sail.
To seat the washers, you might remove the nuts, level the seats up with epoxy by creating a dam with some plaster, letting that set up, and pour the epoxy in. Then break away the plaster once the epoxy cures. You should have enough thread depth, I would think.

[souljour2000]

Thanks for your comments Alan...I haven't actually sailed the Hunter that much since I bought it in summer of '08. I've done four or five trips including a long run down the beaches from Sarasota to the Boca Grande area and the winds were 9-12 knots then...don't think I lowered the board at all on that run...Did have it down all the way while reaching in 15-16 with 18-19 knot gusts. on the bay and probably once in the gulf near the pass in same cond....just need to get used to her I guess..and how much to crank down for how much keel drop...it's still hard for me to tell how far down (or up) she is honestly.

[PAR]

Get in a race with other similarly configured boats and you'll quickly realize how poorly you're doing against them with the board up.

The easiest way to tell what your keel is doing is to count how many cranks it takes. How many does it take to lower it all the way. This is upwind, crank it up 25% to 50% to reach and crank it all the way up when you're broad off or dead before. You can fine tune it if you like. For example by boat takes 20 revolutions of the crank to lower all the way, but in this position I don't do as well as two full cranks up, except in light air. 4 to 8 cranks up is my reaching mode and I don't retract it fully (which I can with my boat), leaving the last 5 cranks hanging down for better directional tracking down wind.

[Paul B]

I have a 20-foot Hunter with a 400-lb iron keel and a 1700 lb displacement .. I have found that I don't really bother to lower the swing keel very much...even working upwind sometimes. When I am in strong winds...I tend to feel that my boat has more drag with the keel down and so I tend to leave it up and reduce sail a bit or monitor the helm more closely.

You should be very careful with your opinion and some of the opinions you are receiving here.

Most ballasted swing keel boats like you Hunter are designed to sail with the keel in the down position. Without the keel all the way down they will not be self rescuing. In fact many boats of this type have come from the factories with instructions and disclaimers telling owners to ensure the keel is down and locked before sailing. One such example is the Catalina 22 that has a locking handle (bolt) that is engaged when the keel is down.

The fact that you seem to think performance is OK with the keel up tells me you have little to no experience, so you should be very careful about putting yourself and others into harm's way.

[ancient kayaker]

... The fact that you seem to think performance is OK with the keel up tells me you have little to no experience, so you should be very careful about putting yourself and others into harm's way.

That was my thought too. With the keel up the boat may seem to respond more readily to a breeze with more whitewater off the bow when all it is doing is heeling more and creating more turbulence. The added speed may be more apparent than real. The added risk is real enough though.

[alan white]

I'd think the conditions where a capsize is possible are rare considering the boat is sailing near shore, likely always within sight of land. If the boat has a locking mechanism, all the better. Any ballasting swing keel should be lockable for the reasons discussed.
However, most sailors would agree that speed is what matters unless the weather turns dirty and one is commited (possibly by choice) to sailing at the limits of what his boat can take. So in most situations with sailors who want to go fast, the swing keel won't be locked but will be adjusted to some degree, and sometimes up all the way, if that happens to be the best way to sail offwind.
There are plenty of things one ought to know about sailing that are up to the sailor to learn, such as how to spill wind or head up in puffs, or how to deal with kids, or what emergency equipment to bring along.
Or whether the keel ought to be locked under certain conditions.
I don't think anyone (PAR and myself are the two who had given the opinions that Paul B seems to be attempting to discredit) is encouraging anyone to never lock the board. Obviously, before one goes out, one accepts the responsibility for a safe journey and is accordingly prepared, or else they're in for a rude awakening.
The safest thing to do is stay at home in bed.
Why criticize the encouragement of setting the board at different positions and learning how to tweak the boat? Do you (Paul B) think this guy Souljour2000 is an idiot? Why not tell him he should always wear a PFD too.

[PAR]

Some folks just like to find fault, possibly to justify their personal disagreement on any given subject. It apparently isn't enough for these types to offer a differing opinion, without lasing it with their distain for cordial discussion. I say this particularly in light of the fact we don't know what year this Hunter is and if it even has a lock.

Soujour2000 does your lifting device look similar to this?

http://www.huntermarine.com/Images/Models/216/Large/H216KeelLift2.jpg

Or is it a crank handle?

[souljour2000]

I appreciate all the discussion..it has been helpful. I suspect Paul B is correct about legal disclaimers involving the keel being full down and locked. I purchased the boat..a 1983 Hunter 20 more than a year ago and it came with no manual having several previous owners.
As for my type of keel ..it is a crankhandler. It appears there was another design originally with the winch further amidships and mounted in the housing at the base of the diagonal aluminum compression post on the inner side of the main berth.
I probably have only about 5-6 trips under my belt with her and haven't sailed her since July. This becames more and more apparent. Have yet to get myself in the hard habit of counting cranks as PAR is correct to suggest but have mostly opted for all the way up or all the way down so far. There is little doubt that this boat is easily knocked down were a unexpectedly strong gust to come up and in summer certainly one should be aware of microburst downdrafts in respect to where I operate the vessel in Florida when one has the keel "up". These can arise from far away and it may not yet be raining or even cloudy yet for a downdraft like this to occur.
I actually am currently fiber-glassing in a new and permanent coachroof and have discarded the pop-top roof for a number of reasons..but safety in a knockdown is at the top of the list...followed then by the ability to actually walk on top of that part of the cabin which is also desirable. Flotation I have not yet addressed though there is ample room in many areas for me to add close-cell foam though some of it's going to have to wait while there's other mods going on in the cabin with reinforcing of bulkheads...adding storage alcoves...etc...and other things that a poorly finished daysailer offering of the 80's Hunter corporation that is 25 years old might require. I am currently still recovering mentally from the "sawz-all portion" of the "coachroof mod"...I'll try to post some pics...
As she is right now...with little to no built-in bouyancy my boat would likely sink very quickly in a knockdown and I think it is a topic that is a major safety issue with many factory boats such as mine...there was a knockdown of a mac 26 in the Providence River recently though the new owner had sail up with no water ballast and no secondary ballast in his particular model.
Ancient kayaker offered a helpful observation with his remarks about apparent speed with the keel up "due to roll and bow wake. I have yet to get a gps with speed gauge and for electronics have a depthfinder and a mounted vhf radio---- it may indeed be an illusion of extra speed with the keel up afterall. ..I will say that my original post and the comments that followed were revealing to me in regard to my knowledge of the boats performance though what strikes me most is the idea that similar to what can happen to aircraft pilots it has become apparent to me what 5 months of rust does to one who is not sailing...This is another topic that deserves a thread if it already hasn't earned one in this forum....in the meantime..I am now in the market for that sailing dinghy because it's clear I need to "get current" again as soon as possible. 'Nuff said!

-

[gonzo]

Alan: How can being near shore provent a capsize? Seems like a silly claim that there are no strong or gusty winds near shore.

[PAR]

I'm familiar with the '83 Hunter swing keel design, leave the pin out (don't lock it down), unless you're absolutely sure you're going to be in deep water. In the unlocked position it'll bounce over bottom strikes with little damage. If it's locked down, you break things pretty quickly.

Unless the Golly Green Giant comes along, with the world's largest pancake flipper, looking to give you a hard time, then your keel will stay in the lowered position (you basically need to be upside down for it to retract by itself), regardless of heel angle or if unlocked.

I've sailed your area many times, even ran a charter out of St. Pete for a while, it's a great place to sail. Leave the keel down all the time. You'll gain a huge stability advantage (the boat will not heel as much), she'll feel more comfortable, will stand up to her sails and maneuvering will be crisper.

Does your boat have a hunk of foam under the cockpit? You may also find another piece under the V berth (the foam will be under the liner). It's not uncommon to find the rear piece of foam soaked with water and fuel.

This should be what you boat looks like.

http://www.benplace.com/hunter20/hunter20_27.JPG

The era your boat is from is fraught with difficulties. Check the chain plates for softness, particularly the back stay on the transom. Tossing the pop top and making a new, much lighter one is a good thing. If it's had an outboard or outboard bracket attached, check the transom for a shot core. There's a whole list of stuff to look for on the early 80's era Hunters. All the manufactures were cutting costs everywhere and things got short sheeted. It's all stuff that can be fixed.

[souljour2000]

PAR....thanks for the info...that's me boat...I've got complete soaked wood rot in the cabin floor...but so far thats all I've found...the rear wall of the cabin where the companionway is..er..it's interesting in that it has no core...it's hollow...no plywood...no foam ...I can tell because I have yet to really permanently cover the sizable hole the previous owner made there for a depth/fishfinder or something.

[Paul B]

your keel will stay in the lowered position (you basically need to be upside down for it to retract by itself)

Uh, no. I have seen another, similar swing keeler knock down and have the keel release and slam into the hull, which then changed the AVS enough to turtle the boat.

By the way, that boat was also designed to sail with the keel down, but the MFG saved the cost of a bolt and backing plate to act as a friction lock. Bad idea, that.

[PAR]

You seem (repeatedly) to be the only person that "knows" what they're talking about. I did not post any previous unrelated images (that's Hunter's current swing keel lifting device used on their small sailors), nor do I understand anything else of what you've suggested. It's clearly time for one of us to go.

[souljour2000]

Not sure I want to step into this ring..the ref gets punched out some times...but here goes..since I started this thread...first of all..my boat DOES have a locking bolt though the square backing plate embedded in fiberglass was iron( bad idea,dissolved to nothing basically by the time I finally pulled it a few months back).It was a great source of my leak at that point.

I have no idea what the manual suggests as far as sailing procedure...there might have been a pdf of one in sailboatowners.com specs...but not sure.The 400 lb iron keel,1700 lb displacement and my approx. 45-50 hrs sailing time in the vessel winter (and summer)tell me its safe to sail with the keel up in winds under 12 knots under full sail as long as the crew is monitoring the helm and is able to release the mainsheet within a two or three seconds or so...which is easy to facilitate if you are really watching things and have the sheet in the cam cleat and the lines cleared of potential entanglements. At winds above 12 knots ...winter or summer weather patterns...doesn't matter, or If I knew there was a cold front approaching in winter, fall or spring (yes we get them at those times too)I would have the keel down absolutely..no ifs and or buts unless I had two or more reefs in the main or was solely under a heavily-reefed jib or a smaller storm jib
Maybe I'd be wrong...but that's how I'd approach it...If it were a stiffer, heavier boat of 6 tons instead of less than 2 tons you might not be moving well at the wind speeds that get my boat moving. I think My boat might be just stiff enough to move well without roll in 10 knots of wind or less and without the keel down...afterall..there's still a 400 lb, 18-inch wide, 4 foot long blade hanging from the keelson area even if it's in the horizontal position... .....maybe it's no bowwave- induced illusion...but just a decent daysailer hullshape with no pennant drag and my big 225 lb butt parked on the windward seats of my cockpit probably has something to do with the stabilty that combine to give speed and handling in light winds that no engineer or naval architect can really ever quantify... so if you can't laugh at that picture...

p.s.---it's kinda been oddly nice to hear all the fuss over a Hunter that was basically a black sheep of the Hunter line due to the keel wich system...and a low production boat ....especially since Hunter's early boats (and often new ones)usually get only derisive remarks, comments
and very little serious discussion...

[Paul B]

...first of all..my boat DOES have a locking bolt though the square backing plate embedded in fiberglass

The 400 lb iron keel,1700 lb displacement and my approx. 45-50 hrs sailing time in the vessel winter (and summer)tell me its safe to sail with the keel up in winds under 12 knots under full sail

I guess the MFG put that locking bolt in for no reason at all.

Swing KEELs are normally meant to be just that, KEELS. They are not centerboards. The reason they can swing is generally for launch/retrieval and trailering/storage. While sailing they are to act as a fixed keel.

You might do a quick search of the guy with the M26 who thought it was a good idea to get extra speed by sailing his boat without the water ballast. He was smarter than the designer/builder.

But it is your boat and I have nothing to lose.

Good luck to you.

[souljour2000]

I think it was a Mac 26 X...no auxillary ballast..just the tanks...maybe he just had no clue that you have to let go the mainsheet in boats with no ballast that have their lee rails buried...or you have to change direction off the wind.....either way..you would need to do so quickly...a real newbie with absolutely no expereince in sailboats of any kind could probably do it easily...it''ll be in the NTSB marine accident date base in a few months..sounds like a open/shut case.

Paul..your right about one thing...and that might be that the average swing keels are not good daggerboards ...though in fair sea conditions you can use them as such by regulating how far down they go...they are problematic and ....there's too much downside to most of them IMHO...lol...I guess most all of this fuss stems from a design that could lower the CG of a boat trailer so there werent bits of hunters and catalinas littering the freeways every Saturday.. and did you get it?...too much downside??.....goin' to bed now...

[PAR]

Paul B and I agree that it's not the wisest course to sail with the board up, but pinned it's a debate. You'll find among the owners of these and subsequent small Hunters, the preference is to leave the pin out and save damage to the case and pivot. This is born out in their owner's groups, though does likely fly in the face of liability on part of owner, in respect to potential damage in a severe knock down or capsize. In my experience, the extreme vast majority of sailors of these boats, will never see the mast touch the water or even get close to this state. This doesn't mean the potential isn't there, just that it's very unlikely. You can live life the way the lawyers want you to, which is scared, covered in duct tape and bubble wrap or you can "hang it out on the edge", buy a Harley and grow your hair longer. Your call . . .

[ancient kayaker]

I would suggest operating according to conditions. In shallow waters keel up or at least unlocked, in blue water with gusts expected keel down and locked in case of a knockdown. And always within the limits of the boat.

PAR: I'll think about the Harley, not much I can do about the hair though :)

[alan white]

So it's settled. The pin stays halfway out or, if conditions warrant, halfway in. It's a personal choice, like buying a Harley and a cheap long-hair wig.

[souljour2000]

yeah...something like that...next topic...glassing in a swing keel on a typical 80's "clorox bottle" sailboat flat hull shape while wearing a wig and a WWI spiked kaiser helmetand watching "The Great Escape' on your ipod at the same time.

[PAR]

'Glassing the swing keel has been done, though I wouldn't recommend it. It wouldn't do much. Arguments could be made about appendage slot drag, fairing, etc., but the offset is not being able to easily trailer the boat and haul outs would be travel lift, dry dock or crane sessions, which costs a lot more.

As for the wig, helmet and Ipod movies, I say go for it, so long as the wig is red.

[ancient kayaker]

yeah...something like that...next topic...glassing in a swing keel on a typical 80's "clorox bottle" sailboat flat hull shape ...
If you want the keel down why not just leave it down?

... while wearing a wig and a WWI spiked kaiser helmetand watching "The Great Escape' on your ipod at the same time.

That is a wicked lie! I don't even have an ipod. When I find that camera ...

[bruceb]

I am pretty sure a hunter 20 was tested locally for the MORC (I think) measurement rule. At that, time-early 80s, swing keel/lift keel boats had to demonstrate self-righting ability with the keel retracted and a sail bag & sail at the jib hoist. I worked for the local Hunter dealer and helped test the boat for a customer. With the mast pulled down to the water, it did self right. Crew position and boat handling would make a difference, it is just a big day sailor, but it did pop back up. We had another Florida brand knocked down and sunk with a fatality around the same time that I am sure Hunter was aware of when the 20 was designed. I think they took extra care with the 20. I think keeping the hatches and ports shut makes more difference in staying afloat. I have watched a J-22 rolled 360 twice in less than three minutes and its keel was "down and glassed". Seamanship and respect for the conditions can allow most boats to be handled safely, while depending on "self-righting" and or " unsinkable" claims will eventually lead to disappointment or disaster. B

[souljour2000]

Thanks Bruce ...for posting your knowledge and recollections concerning the Hunter 20.. .It has always (and probably will continue to be) difficult to find out info on this boat as it seems the early run was not considered particularly successful and I believe the overall run was a fairly low number, possibly due in large part to issues with swing keel winch system. I think the boat was produced from 1982-1985 but please correct me if you can recall the exact years of production.
Hope you will be kind enough to add any other bits of info that you may recall about her. I've had my '83 H-20 for a while now and found her to be a fairly versatile and stable sailing companion performance-wise.
The H-20 has her drawbacks in regards to finish..but glassing in or redoing those areas is no big deal and alot of fun.Tons of room inside, a tall mast at 29'5" to hang some canvas on and I just like this size boat. The dinette area is too small for the person(s) who may have their back to companionway. It's a very tight fit so I am addressing that with cabin extension by about 6 inches. this will yield a smaller cockpit...which I don't like but one less likely to swamp and I can make thenew bulkhead a 90 degrees angle and be able to reach a rear-most lazarette in the cabin much easier than before ;.that project in turn requires a new roof so the pop-top roof went away and a new one is a.w.i.p. and will yield a coachroof I can actually stand(on) whenIi need to. She's still just a big dinghy as you remarked, so as a novice "boatwright" of sorts,I don't feel overwhelmed by the size of projects like I might with say a 22-23 footer ...I like being able to reach over rails while swimming beside her or needing to toss something on board her or reach over and grab something off the seats(say a mask or snorkel). I tend to think that she's also a rather nice -looking boat despite her non-traditional trapezoidal rear windows.

Thanks again ..it is great to hear about some of her early history and sea-trials.

As for glassing her keel in...that project is still a ways off though it's open season in regard to any thoughts on it...why down Ancient...? I was thinking of glassing her in the "up" position and keeping her fairly close to her original 15" draft while adding a sloping false keel forward with another tidbit of keel added towards the stern... both sections would have some amount of lead fishing weights added...here's some pics...btw..windows have been modified in the sketch..and so has rear of cabin which is under renovation as I mentioned..i'll try to post pics of that saga with some short narrative if I'm capable of the latter...

[bruceb]

Hunter and most other boat builders didn't give their dealers many incentives to sell their smaller models. They and the dealers made more money on the bigger boats, but other factors were also at work. Long term financing for boats became available allowing much larger purchases for the same monthly payment, and cars started getting smaller with a lot less towing capacity. The H-20 and other similar models didn't have enough time to get sorted out before the boat market went in another direction. On glassing your keel, one 24' design I remember was sold by two different manufactures, one with a lifting foil "racer" and the other "cruiser" with with a shoal glass keel/centerboard. There was about a 5 degree pointing difference and about a 10% speed penalty with the shoal keel. The centerboard was not very effective but it did reduce the rolling and made the boat feel better under foot. A better fixed keel shape and gaskets on the board trunk would have improved the shoal keel performance, but I think I would just delete the centerboard:) and keep it simple. B

[souljour2000]

...That was quite a time for sailing in America...I guess those days seem like an aeon ago. There are still so many boats from those days to be found but some day they will be harder to find...especially good ones... On the other hand...there is much more interest in DIY and non-traditional designs.... as well as KISS designs .

On that note...did you say there at the end that you'd suggest deleting the centerboard?...by that did you mean get rid of the 400 lb iron swing keel completely and just try to make a daggerboard of sorts out of different material? Not quite sure if I followed you there...thanks

[bruceb]

Sorry, that wasn't very clear. I am not a designer, but from experience only!, I would probably keep the cast iron and add about about a hundred lbs of lead and about three inches of draft to the bottom of the raised position. (As much draft as you can without making it hard to launch and trailer) If you mostly sail single or two up, the extra weight will not hurt and the extra draft will make a noticeable righting and performance gain. The first foot or so of surface water is so disturbed that a small, shallow draft boat has a hard time going to weather in even small waves. Every inch of draft helps. B

[PAR]

I would strongly urge you to reconsider thoughts of leaving the board in the up position and 'glassing it in. The boat doesn't have the initial stability to "stand up" as well with it in this position and windward performance will be dramatically compromised, plus the much higher CG will make knock downs a very real and likely prospect.

It wouldn't be especially difficult to design a new moderately shoal appendage for this boat, eliminating the need for the board, but frankly, leaving it up is eventually just asking to have your boat recovered from a knock down and/or sinking and what ever damage you might get away with as a result.

Having experienced many knock downs, capsizes and complete roll overs, I can assure you, if you can avoid these, do so at all cost. Setting your boat up to increase the possibility of these types of events is irresponsibility at the highest order, to those that may be riding with you (very likely could be considered "neglect" or "depraved in-deference"). People can die or become hurt in these events. This is a hell of a thing to ask of friends and family, just because you don't want to "play " with the board.

Considering your sailing experience, you shouldn't even contemplate this level of alteration, without professional assistance.

[souljour2000]

Bruce..thanks for that explanation.That of course makes alot of sense about the first couple feet of disturbed water and how a bit more draft helps get some "bite" in choppy conditions...I hadn't thought of adding much depth but your point is well-taken and if I do indeed glass the keel I will try to add as much depth as my trailer(and local boat ramp) will allow.I think I could add 6 inches and still be at no more than 2 foot of draft...that's about as much draft as I want to have with me lil' gunkholer...

[bruceb]

I think PAR has some very valid points, any major boat mods need to be well thought out. That said, there is plenty of experienced help in your area to go to for advice/help and lots more "advice" on line- for better or not. I think doing "something" is important, swing keels can not be neglected and usually need to be removed and serviced every few years. Yours is probably about 20yrs overdue:( The easiest choice might be to sell your boat and find another that better fits your sailing style and needs. Compac 19s and Precision 21s are often available in south Florida and are almost exactly what you are trying to end up with and I am sure there are others. One thing for sure, modifying a boat usually destroys its re-sale value and can make it hard to insure, even if it is really better. B

[souljour2000]

I appreciate and value the comments from both of you .

[GTO]

Could interior ballast be added to make up for the reduced righting moment of the retracted board?
Or would it just take too much weight to really help?

[souljour2000]

I think it could GTO...getting it as low as you can..maybe in the bottom area directly above the keel bolts.

The truth is that most knockdowns are avoidable and can be averted
by quick action at the helm...but it often could have been avoided much earlier by watching your favorite meteorologist (Paul Delegato Channel13 Tampa),..going to the NOAA website, newspaper or a basic curiosity concerning weather that goes back a few years prior to the morning you decide to head to "12-mile reef". I think weather knowledge is the single most important factor in a sailors toolbox and it is not talked about enough in these forums...probably because everyone lives in different areas....
I try to learn my area's weather scenarios and prevailing winds and currents. Here in west coast of Florida it is a typical coastal pattern but it has it's own variables and idiosyncrasies... in summer t-storms can develop rapidly after about noon and I try to get as early a start as possible.In the winter fall or spring...cold fronts can make it down here and bring NW winds that can make your day miserable or worse... here we often just get the tail end of cold fronts..sometimes it's just a bit breezy...sometimes not if it gets down farther...I don't depend on the weather guys to tell me how far it's going to come down...I would try to plan my trip around the strong possibility of their mistake...they make them and often...If I took my boat to the Great lakes one summer..I'd want to learn as much about that area's weather as I could...whether I was hauling a Capri 18 up there or a Pac-Sea 31...
Underway, with a hopefully good idea of what weather to expect...I try to make sure I am always able to release the jam cleat holding the main sheet within a couple seconds ...and I stay beside that cleat unless I'm in fairly light winds...it takes extra effort and vigilance and it can be tiring when on a long cruise leg but I do it because a knockdown would be highly undesirable. When the winds are strong, medium and variable or even when they are light I stay by the helm ...seeing and avoiding...making sure my mainsheet cannot get tangled...watching tell-tales...observing weather changes and so forth...boats like mine with flat bottoms and without alot of righting moment in their keel design don't make good single-handers for those who want to tie off the tiller and take a nap, go forward or be anywhere very far from the mainsheet cleat...especially in stronger or variable winds. It depends on what kind of sailing you are looking for...I'm looking to avoid putting my boat in situations where she may not function well...of course If I aspired to do any real offshore sailing or ocean crossings ...I'd track down a different boat...Right now my boat gives me all the challenge I want and the opportunity to learn...at the price of extra vigilance and investment in study of both weather and seamanship with small actual pocketbook.There's undeniably a time or two that local weather knowledge has probably bailed me out of disaster when my sailing seamanship and boat familiarity was sub-par...I'll save those stories for another time....

[PAR]

Again, having experienced many occasions that the spreaders where carving their own wakes in the water, the most common similarity is something got fouled just before or after the "gust" hit.

Releasing the sheet, but having it foul a winch or other piece of hardware as it runs out. Having a line jam is a pretty common cause. How many spinnaker dousings have ended this way?

Placing weight inside the hull probably isn't going to help much. Placing it on the appendage as low as possible, as an addition to it, would be a much better option, but again limited, particularly in light of how much lower the CG can be with the board deployed.

You need a new shoal appendage. Frankly, having lived in the same skinny waters as Souljour2000 for some decades now, I don't see the issue other then having to tend the lifting crank occasionally.. Operating a swing keel or centerboard boat isn't difficult. Will you run aground? Maybe, but if the pin is out, your keel will just lift up over it and the boat will literally "bounce" along, slowed considerably, but still moving. With the keel retracted, your boat will skid to leeward excessively, you're lateral area will be too far aft and the boat will be much more tender, plus more prone to capsize.