Significant or insignificant......

[Roly]

My partner in crime is away and I need some moral support.

Hardware beyond = existing keel.
As drawns = superimposed.

Are the differences significant & worth cutting and welding superstructure as
to closer approximate as drawns? Or will it be negligible in term of drag, leeway
etc. A "how long is piece of string question".

The state of the structure is better than it looks.
There IS a bit of work involved to change it. Mostly in re-profiling the tail into the hull.

[gonzo]

Why are you making a change?

[Roly]

G'day Gonzo,
I have rebuild everthing else & the keel turned out to be different to the drawings.
So, it is an old class boat with an active following, so I suppose if I leave it I could be risking ."your keel doesn't comply". There has been a lot of artistic license with the keels. No two seem the same. What I really want to know is.......never mind-stupid question of mine to ask.
I'll just do whats easiest. (Quickest, or I'll croak before it goes back in the water.)

[Petros]

I doubt there will be much difference in performance or behavior. The existing keel appears not to have as much surface area low down as the drawing. This would indicated that the existing keel has a slightly better aspect ratio, so should be slightly more efficient. If... everything else is exactly how it is supposed to be, and since the profile does not match, not likely anything else does either.

I would not bother to change it, the difference would likely be undetectable. It would be hard to imagine that anyone would protest that small of a change. If it was a high aspect ratio deep bulb keel, than maybe, but not this. In club racing I have never even seen a protest or heard of a protest.

Just get it back together in the least time consuming way possible, or it may never make it back into the water.