Navigating Through Keel Challenges: Seeking Wisdom on Sailboat Redesign

[BlueBell]

I'd be tempted dumping all the keel weight and replacing it with a wing that's
going to provide what you want... at speed, without the weight penalty.

Or, just go back to the original design and sail it the way it was designed to be.

 

[Bastien]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. @SalGato, I appreciate your design suggestion. However, I'm uncertain about how the actuators can extend from 13" (when fully retracted) to 36" (when fully extended). If an actuator can only double its original size, then its minimum length, when the keel is down, would be 13" (the distance from the hull to the top of the box). Can you provide some clarity on this?

 

[Bastien]

I am adding new pictures for reference.

 

[SolGato]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. @SalGato, I appreciate your design suggestion. However, I'm uncertain about how the actuators can extend from 13" (when fully retracted) to 36" (when fully extended). If an actuator can only double its original size, then its minimum length, when the keel is down, would be 13" (the distance from the hull to the top of the box). Can you provide some clarity on this?

Sorry, I don’t know how to clarify the concept any further than providing the drawing and the description I already posted.

Please look at the drawing and read the description carefully.

Looking at the drawing you see there is an extension added to the top of the keel to which the top end of the actuators mount, and in my description I state that the upper lifting point needs to be extended and raised to allow for the length of the collapsed actuators and full travel.

Think of the extension “bracket”, the base of which which mounts to the existing through hole in the top of the keel, as the handle of a purse.

What’s unclear without knowing all dimensions is how high the extension bracket will sit when the keel is deployed and if there is adequate clearance for it to remain below deck level.