Keel depth

[Christopher Ham]

I am looking at purchasing a Nauticat 33 in the post-Covid future. 🙏 I note that some are specified with a 1.25m keel depth and others with 1.55m. Why is there such a variation and does this affect the sailing performance in any way?
Cheers,
Ben

[39Schuss]

There were two versions. The one with deeper keel also has a taller rig. This was supposed to enhance sailing performance. Mine is the 1.55 version. I have not been in a position to compare the two, but presumably with a larger sail area the thinking was that sail performance would be enhanced. As I live on mine, the extra weight she carries probably negates any advantage!

[Trevor Rose]

I think that keels got deeper in later boats.I suggest that if you want to sail a deeper keel is essential.Just look at racing yachts.
Trevor Rose

[Christopher Ham]

😄👍

[Christopher Ham]

Cheers for that. Was there a particular year after which they fitted the deeper keels?

[David Babsky]

The 1.55 metre keel – like ours – is 1.55m ..that’s 5 foot 1 inch.. at the leading edge of the keel, but it gets slightly deeper, down to about 5 foot 3 inches amidships. Worth bearing in mind when planning trips and estimating times to clear sandbanks (e.g; Dunkerque, Littlehampton, Bembridge and assorted lock sills)!

[David Babsky]

I believe the ‘deeper keel’ N33 was introduced in 1982, but this chart from Nauticat themselves (..now in liquidation..) shows that the ’82 version has a depth of 1.65 metres (5’5″). Those were / are the N33 Mark II version, I believe.

Early Nauticats (1966 onwards) had a glass fibre hull but a wooden top, later ones (1978 onwards) had the original glass fibre hull, plus a glass fibre top too, and there are various layouts WITH built-in moulded seats on the after deck, some WITHOUT, and all sorts of different layouts down below (some with a centre companionway down to the saloon, some with an offset companionway and a larger chart-table to the side of it).

Here’s Nauticat Yachts’ own chart of the different models and different years:
http://www.nauticat.com/concept/nauticats_through_times

[Christopher Ham]

Thank you once again David.

[Roger Sturge]

My Wild Cat is a 1977 wooden top Mark 2 (near to the last of the pretty – but more expensive to maintain – wooden tops?). Wild Cat’s draught is about 1.5m. I would think that any less than that would be very uncomfortable unless there is substantially more ballast. Mine rolls quite enough in rough seas. Perhaps the shallower keel is in the Mark 1 which has a coach roof on the aft cabin instead of the raised poop deck.

[victor crowhurst]

I found an old brochure from Nauticat, can be dated as 1995 London boat show. It has model N35 and N32 which have alternative draft options.

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