Jan van der Klooster

[Jan van der Klooster]

Hello Glenn,

I'm from Holland and want to buy a Hunter 27 with a bilge keel (twinkeels) with draught 1.05 m but what is the performance of this boat if you compare it to a Hunter 27 with a wingkeel also depth 1.05 m ? Tacking - sailing close to the wind, etc. Of course I know the advantage of sailing in shallow water with a twinkeeler!.

Thank you very much!

wfr

Jan van der Klooster, the Netherlands

[Glenn Henderson]

The twin keel has more wetted surface than the single keel versions so it will be less lively in light winds. The lifting area of the keels are so great that it is very forgiving upwind in the groove. It will suffer less drag when pushed out of it's angle of incedence range. In short, it will stay in the "groove" easier, particulaily in a confused sea state. The lifting function of the keels suffer less laminar damage when streamlines of flow are erratic. Dealers that have sailed both versions side by side a lot tell me they think the twin keel is faster in a breeze. This could be true in certain conditions. My point is that it performance certainly is not dratically damaged.