Swivel keel

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Retracted swing keel of an RM 1270 yacht

In keel boats, a swivel keel is a movable ballast keel that can be folded into the hull about an axis lying in the bottom area of ​​the boat, transverse to the boat's longitudinal axis. If the tilt axis is along the boat's longitudinal axis, it is a tilt keel .

The swing keel is mainly used where keel boats have to be transported more often, such as. B. in regatta boats or in shallow waters with a large tidal range , where the caught up keel may still allow the boat to navigate the water at low tide or to fall dry without tilting on its side.

The swivel keel is folded into the fuselage using suitable pulling devices, such as a cable winch or a threaded rod. On larger sailing yachts with heavy keels, a hydraulic device is available for pivoting in order to cope with the great forces.

Alternatives

The lifting keel is an alternative to the swivel keel . The swivel keel has the advantage that the keel box inside the boat can be smaller than with the lifting keel, where the keel box often extends under the cabin roof and under certain circumstances also takes on the function of the mast support. With the swivel keel, however, less space is lost inside the boat. In addition, the swivel keel has the advantage that it can swivel backwards in the event of ground contact and thus avoid damage. However, the forces occurring on the axis of the swing keel are great and the ballast cannot be concentrated on a keel bomb .

Another alternative is the ballast sword or keel sword, it differs from the keel in that it is lighter, but thereby contributes less to the weight stability of the boat and is usually profiled differently.

swell