One thing's for sure... you'll have a hard time keeping a planing boat at
hull speed. Those throttles have a way of calling you and saying... push me!
push me! Let's go faster! Then you'll wonder where all that fuel went!

Keith
__
"Are you any relation to your brother Marv?"
-Basketball player Leon Wood to announcer Steve Albert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Brannon" pfbrannon@earthlink.net
I know that planing hulls are more

I have to agree with Keith when he says it will be hard to not put her on
plane.  A few years ago, I had a 56' planing boat with twin Detroit 8V71's
and when I bought the boat, the idea was diesel and economy.  At hull speed
it was surprisingly economical for such a large steel boat and it did have a
good size keel to keep it on track..  The surveyor stated in his report from
the sea trial, that the boat popped out of the water like a Boston Whaler!
Well it...did and the thrill of feeling that boat free itself from the water
and the roar of the twins constantly lured me to throttle up.  I never had a
problem with bad fuel though.

Next I owned a 28' boat with a planing hull and single gas engine.  I was
determined to cruise the boat at hull speed and save fuel since gas is
expensive and gas engines are not exactly fuel efficient.  Problem was that
the hull shape was such that the boat wandered so badly at slow speeds it
was a pain to travel slow. Since the boat was under powered it would not
plane very well and I spent a lot of money on gas plowing through the water
to keep proper steerage.  I was constantly wishing for a keel.

I think the keel is important on smaller boat for tracking but not such a
consideration on larger boats like the 48 you describe.

As far as running gear protection, it depends where your cruising grounds
will be.  Example: Protected, will fend off lobster/crab pot lines to some
degree and sliding up on a sandy or muddy shoal with a keel will allow for
pivoting off while offering some protection to the prop and rudder.  If you
boat where there is rock, I don't think a keel is going to help much if you
hit an underwater obstruction with much force.

My feeling is that you should consider how you will use the boat.  Will it
be a full time cruiser or a weekend boat...A full time cruiser would
consider fuel economy and a weekend cruiser would prefer speed to get to
those places fast since only a few days are available to boat.

Consider your use when buying a boat and be sure that the boat is not so big
that it sits at the dock a lot because it is so much effort to cast off the
lines.

Good luck,
Bob Clinkenbeard

I am in the market for a boat and have always

Thanks for the info so far.  To clarify some points... We are looking at a
liveaboard vessel.  We will primarily be cruising the ICW and Bahamas.  We
will probably be on the hook a good bit of the time that we are out
cruising.  I may have been misleading in my question regarding keel or no
keel.  I guess what I am getting at is something Bob mentioned.  I have had
a small boat that, unless it was on plane, would wander badly.  I was
assuming that a semi-displacement with keel would keep it tracking
correctly.  Having not spent much time on a larger boat with planing hull, I
am curious as to the seakindliness of the hull.  Thanks for the input.  We
are looking forward to making this jump.

Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Brannon" pfbrannon@earthlink.net
To: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2004 8:18 AM
Subject: T&T: To keel or not to keel?

hull shape is important... a planning hull with steeper deadrise will track
well and not wander around at low speed.  my prev boat was a 37 express with
twin vee drive inboards and higher deadrise than most express that size.
never had a problem  at low speed and even when docking, the deeper hull
helped in Xwinds.

I think most 45+ boats, even with planning hulls will have deeper hull which
will provide the stablity you want at low speed and smooth entry in a chop.

Hatteras 53s can plane with enough power, (turbo 8V71s), but also handle
well at hull speed.. I have naturals which wont' get the boat on plane and
always run at hull speed.  Pushing it any harder just doubles the fuel flow
and yield only 3 or 4 more kts.

pascal
miami,fl
1970 hatteras 53MY

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Brannon" pfbrannon@earthlink.net
To: "Paul Brannon" pfbrannon@earthlink.net;
trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com
Sent: Monday, October 11, 2004 10:37 AM
Subject: T&T: Re: To keel or not to keel?

had

I

It's not about the keel, it's the hull form.  A keel provides running gear
protection in many cases, and tracking stability in most cases. Keels can
be on both planing and displacement hulls. A keel (such as on older
Hatteras') does reduce planing performance, but add stability and tracking,
and that is a reasonable trade off in my view.

Your decision is displacement vs planing hull--seakeeping ability vs.
speed.  There are lots of issues in making this decision and most of it
points back to what you want to do with the boat. Lots of folks decide to
buy a planing hull boat because they are available at lower cost in and in
larger quantities than displacement hull boats and are suitable for most
inland and near coastal cruising--the way nearly all boats are used.

I'm sure others will jump in with additional words of wisdom.

Frank

At 08:18 AM 10/11/2004 -0400, Paul Brannon wrote: