To skeg or not to skeg that is the question

I have bought a 40" steel yacht..... hull and 90% of the keel is finished and under its current design the keel leads into the skeg with the bottom of the keel tapering back toward the skeg instead of doing a reverse v like a sufboard fin. The skeg is half complete and there is no rudder. I spoke to the designer of the boat (who is very well known) and he seemed to think I should modernise the design and do away with the skeg and just have the rudder and maybe alter the keel somehow (we didn't get that far and the designer seemed reluctant to give too much away) When I asked him what difference it made his comment was it is just a more modern design. What does that mean? The boat is for coastal cruising and ocean voyages should I be concerned about this design change, will it alter the resale value? I'm not going to be raceing it unless I race with other steel boats

 

Let me guess, Bruce Roberts?

He's reluctant to offer more, because he's interested in getting paid for consultation and/or refining/upgrading a set of plans.

Divided appendages will improve maneuverability at the expense of tracking ability.

Trying to "wing it" on the fly isn't especially recommended without a firm grasp of the concepts involved. Hire the designer to make revisions. Playing around with appendages isn't work of folly or for the uninformed. It can mean the difference between a fine handling boat or one that just doesn't do anything well.

 

oh boy

this could be a hot topic

please please post pictures:idea:

 

Lots of room for discussion on this one, yeah.

In addition to maneuverability vs tracking; if a significant amount of sailing will be coastal, I'll just add that a well designed skeg will reduce potential grounding damage without impairing performance apart from what was mentioned already.

I agree, though, that this is a modification important enough to be done by a professional designer.

 

I'll post photo's. thanks

 

How do I get a photo on to this site. Its asking for a url does that mean I need to post it onto a web site?

 

treeclimber@xtr, instead of using Insert Image, try using either the Attachments button (looks like a paperclip) in the editor or Manage Attachments button in the Additional Options pane. Then browse for it on your system. Looking forward to seeing it.

Regards,
Kristian

 

You could update those appendages to a more modern design but the difference would be quite marginal. If you where racing with similarly sized/burdened craft, then a spade rudder would offer some advantages, but you'd likely have to alter the fin as well to make up the significant amount of lateral area the skeg has incorporated into it.

Considering the shape and aspect ratio of your fin, you're better off with the stock skeg/rudder configuration.

 

Yes Mr Mummery wasn't to keen to tell me too much but not to be to hard on the fella I'll contact him again with more specific questions and post whatever he has to say in this regard.

 

Sail drive

Is it going to be hard to fit a sail drive to this puppy. The whole skeg fin thing looks to be in the way.

 

Yes, unless you have some very good reason to tamper with things, you should stick to the original layout for the engine, shaft, etc.

 

A friend of mine Colin Brown who is a shipwright and restores old boats operating in Auckland New Zealand told me a story about a friend of his who hit a sunfish and bent his spade rudder then had to jimmy rig a new one at sea to get into the Bay of Islands. The Skeg stays all the way!

 

Roll Bar - Skeg to Keel

Recently had to repair rudder that was damaged when reversing onto an unmarked rock - the Skeg saved the day on this steel boat. During the repairs decided to add a roll bar between the bottom of the skeg and the bottom of the keel. Already happy with the mod. In S.E. Asia waters , NETS are a real problem. The rollbar made of 30mm OD solid alloy steel.

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/at...p?attachmentid=23210&stc=1&d=1215570126570126