How keel design affects performance

Peter Poland looks at the history of keel design and how the different types affect performance

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Having been a boatbuilder for around 30 years until the very early ‘noughties’, I’ve already witnessed – and even taken part in – a lot of changes in the world of yacht design and building.

Yacht design originally evolved as traditional workboats developed into leisure craft. In his History of Yachting, Douglas Phillips-Birt writes that the Dutch, who gave the name ‘yacht’ to the world, were probably the first to use commercial craft for pleasure in the 16th century. They created the first yacht harbour in Amsterdam in the 17th century. When the schooner America visited the UK in 1851 and raced around the Isle of Wight, this led to the America’s Cup and the resulting merry-go-round of race yacht design that continues to this day. The creation of what is now the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) in 1875 led to the introduction of handicap rules, establishing the sport in Britain. These rating rules - and their numerous successors down the ages - have helped determine the evolution of yacht design and keel shapes.

Workboat heritage

Many early yachts were closely based on workboats, commercial cargo carriers or even privateers and naval vessels. Initially, the ballast was carried in a long keel and the bilges. New racing rules of the day taught designers to seek and tweak performance-enhancing features. Maybe racing did not always improve the breed, but it certainly kept it moving ahead.