Which lift-keeler?
French boatbuilders loved a variable draught yacht – and made them in a slightly bewildering array of designs and styles, says Peter Poland
The best of a bewildering array of French variable draught yachts
If you have a yen to go coastal cruising in a variable draught yacht that’s less than 30ft long, you’ll need to search in classified adverts or on brokerage listings. Such boats were commonplace in the last century – but sadly there’s precious little now available on the new-boat market apart from the occasional speedy racer, limited production ‘special’ or character gaffer.
Some of the best second-hand options come from French manufacturers. However, it's important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the keel-lifting mechanisms that are available. Expect to pay more and incur greater maintenance overheads for highperformance systems that match the windward capabilities of their fixed-keel
equivalents, but don't discount the simpler designs that will save you a lot of money and require much less maintenance, unless you are sure you need top upwind performance.
Stability and leeway
A yacht's stability is determined by its hull shape and the location of its centre of gravity (CG). A broad and flat hull shape will provide plenty of initial stability, but once the force of the wind gets above a certain level, a low CG design will hold more sail and perform better. The lower the CG, the more stable the boat so it follows that shoal (shallow) draught boats tend to have a higher centre of gravity than the fin-keel version of the same boat.
Leeway is also relevant. All boats slide to leeward a bit, but if a boat is not to slide off sideways at speed when it’s on the wind, it needs ‘lateral resistance’. A flat-bottomed boat with nothing sticking out beneath won’t climb to windward. But a fixed plate or keel attached to the underside of the hull can be inconvenient and impractical for a lot of tidal waters, which is why the traditional pivoting leeboard and then centreboard became so widely used.
Early versions
As cruising yachts evolved, designers began to offer sailors the chance to have their cake and eat it.
As a youngster I crewed on a pre-war 63ft yawl designed by Robert Clark. Sailing from Chichester Harbour, the owner had specified a lead keel of relatively shallow draught, with a large iron centreplate that hinged down once the boat had cleared the infamous Chichester Bar. It was the best of both worlds: she flew off the wind with the centreboard raised and mizzen staysail pulling; yet could punch powerfully to windward once it was lowered to increase lateral resistance. She was a prominent RORC competitor of her day, with a successful Fastnet or two under her belt – not to mention numerous leisurely long-distance cruises.
Once GRP came on the scene and production boats proliferated, several British builders adopted ballasted vertically lifting keels. These are much more expensive to engineer and install than fixed keels, but for genuine fin-keel performance from a keel that lifts, this is still the best option. The Super Seal 26 (with internal ballast), Hunter Delta 25 and Evolution 26 are all vertically lifting keel yachts that have excelled on racecourses. The Anderson 22, E Boat, Hunter 701, Trapper TS240 and Eclipse 22 are smaller examples that have also excelled down the years.
However, the canny French reverted to the compromise that worked so well on the Robert Clark pre-war yawl – a cheaper and simpler solution that combines shoal-draught capability with acceptable windward performance. A whole crop of 25-30ft cruisers emerged from the likes of Beneteau, Jeanneau, Kelt, Kirie, Gib’Sea et al featuring an external stub ballast keel (in iron) that housed a pivoting centreplate inside it. These stub-keel-with-centreplate designs derived ample stability from the
shoal-draught ballast keel, while the centreplate lurking within could be lowered to add windward bite.
As a general rule, the stub keel (with centreplate raised within it) reduced the draught of the fixed fin-keel equivalent by around 50%. The plate could even act as a depth sounder when creeping cautiously over the mud.
Stub keel with centreplate
Jeanneau’s Tonic 23 (900 built), Eolia 25, and Fantasia 27 (1,743 built) all offered similar stub-keel/centreplate options, and these sold in huge numbers. The Fantasia 27 – designed by the maestro Philippe Harlé – is one of the most successful boats of its size ever produced. It was one of the first continental boats to pioneer the ‘aft heads and aft double cabin’ layout and offers exceptional space for its size. Harlé’s artistic eye gave it a lovely line and an unusual coachroof that stopped just short of its deck-stepped mast.
I’m not alone in admiring the Fantasia. I came across a forum in which someone posted: ‘Looking at buying a new boat and I am torn between the First 26 and Etap 26. What I’m looking for is something comfy for me and a friend to spend a week on; give a good cruising range; be safe – but also offer good club racing and good speed. I’ve heard that the Etap can have issues with its deck and keel system and that the keel is a pain to get up... But that’s all I know and I don’t know anything about the First 26 so if you guys could let me know everything you know about both boats that’d be amazing.' Numerous parties responded with suggestions that the original poster considered. He later announced: ‘Just thought I’d update all of you kind enough to reply to my initial question. Last week I purchased my new yacht and it was a (drum roll please)... a Jeanneau Fantasia 27. I hadn’t even realised they existed til a couple of months ago but they seemed to provide better value for money than the Beneteau. The accommodation is very similar but I think the Fantasia just about wins that category due to clever little things like the removable backrest on the V-berth and the large locker at the stern of the boat that can accommodate a deflated dinghy.
‘The next major win for the Fantasia [concerns] my personal feelings about lifting keels. I’ve always thought it a bit odd that on boats like the Beneteau all the [keel] weight and stability of the boat is being held on one [hinge] pin. The Fantasia’s keel looks like a long fin that has then been cut a couple of feet down. That part [is] the ballast and allows the lifting [part] to be retracted without being invasive in the cabin area. The lifting part is just there to help [reduce] leeway and give extra resistance to capsizing while sailing. But if the lifting part is lost the vessel is still safe and stable. Supposedly the Fantasia
is a slower yacht and looking at the hull profiles of the two I could believe this but I think a lot comes down to how you sail the yachts and in what conditions.
‘You’ve probably noticed a lack of reference in this post to the Etap 26. After doing research and seeing a couple I thought the accommodation was bad for a boat of that size compared to the other two yachts mentioned above... I also heard that they have a bit of an issue with cabin tops collapsing and bending [near the mast foot] so the Etap really wasn’t in the same league as the other two for what I wanted.’
Given his stated requirements, I reckon this buyer made a good choice. I found instances of problems experienced with the Etap 26 keel system and deck, and comments by owners about keel problems on First 26s. These boats are all getting old so maintenance and repair problems of the more complex keel lifting system or single weight-bearing pivot bolt are bound to arise. So for either of those options a thorough survey is needed along with research as to the price and availability of spare parts.
Stability on land
Before moving on to the fully ballasted swing-keelers, it's worth mentioning one practical problem inherent in both stub-keel centreboarders and many other varieties of swing-keelers: they lack the flat bottom that allows true centreboarder designs to sit upright at low water.
French owners of boats such as the Fantasia and First 26 invariably (and sensibly) added beaching legs to their boats. These underrated devices are simple and effective. Provided the boat is built with strong backing pads glassed inside the hull (where the leg attachment bolts fit), and the top of the leg fits snugly against the topsides, you simply fix the bolt through its hole in the topsides. Fore and aft stabilising guys running from the base of each leg to the bow and stern mooring cleats keep the legs vertical. So the boat stands upright when the tide goes out. As well as making peaceful nights at the head of secluded creeks possible, legs can also save money when you lay up the boat ashore.
Remaining upright when dried out is also a challenge for many French swing-keel designs that were to follow. When Jeanneau and Beneteau took each other on in the early 1980s with decidedly sporty one-designs, the Jeanneau Fun and the Beneteau First Class 8 (969 built) both had a new fangled ‘swing’ ballast keel that was raised and lowered with a worm drive. When lowered, such keels put plenty of weight low down, where it’s needed, but when raised, they cannot retract into the hull (because they are too fat), instead resting horizontally along the centreline under the bottom of the hull.
This way, the draught is reduced considerably for shallow moorings or trailer-sailing while the lifted keel still
‘Remaining upright when dried out is a challenge for swing-keel designs’
gives a degree of protection to the bottom of the boat. The disadvantage is that the boat is not flat bottomed with the keel raised, so it either needs legs to remain upright on a hard surface or falls over on its side.
Beneteau then went on to adopt this swing-keel system on several successful cruising yachts. The First 21, 23, 26 and 260 were good examples of performance cruisers that could hoist their keels but cannot be left to dry out unaided on a hard surface. Beneteau also went ‘vertical’ with its lifting (bulbed) keel First 27.7.
Stub keel twin rudders
Jeanneau, on the other hand, followed the ‘stub keel plus hinging centreplate’ route with its attractive Jeanneau 2500. In addition, this design boasts twin rudders, which means the boat can stand upright on its stub keel without needing beaching legs. Angled twin rudders are also more efficient than a single, shallow central rudder. Twins keep a shallow draught boat on the straight and narrow – even when well heeled. The only disadvantage is that twin rudders cost more. The efficiency of the 2500 as a four-berth coastal cruiser was comprehensively proven by a leading French magazine when the editorial crew borrowed a 2500 and cruised the entire west coastline of France, thrashing through every tidal race and calling in at virtually every little creek and harbour on the way. Practical journalism at its best!
Tony Castro also designed lifting keel versions of his Jeanneau Sun Dream 28, Sun Way 28 and Sun Way 29. All are derivations of his earlier and popular Jeanneau Arcadia and offer an option featuring a shallow ballast keel that incorporates a hinging centreplate.
This combines with twin rudders on the Sun Way 28/29 that has a shallower stub keel (drawing just 0.65m with the plate up) while the Sun Dream draws 1.04m with the plate raised and 1.95m lowered. So once again Jeanneau opted for a keel that supplies the ballast and an easy to raise plate, with a winch located on the aft end of the saloon table, that reduces draught and leeway. Both models offer a modern layout (with aft heads and stern cabin) and are solidly built.
The ever-helpful Jeanneau Owners Network (jeanneau-owners.com) put me in touch with John Cusick who had previously owned a David Thomasdesigned Intro 22 mini-tonner but now wanted something bigger. He told me he “fell in love with the lines of the Sun Dream 28” that he spotted on a brokerage website. When he visited the boat, a 1988 centreplate version, in Burnham-onCrouch he admitted he “had new boat blinkers on and didn’t see all the defects”. Having thought things over he put in a lower offer that was duly accepted.
Then the work began. The Burnham yard attended to items mentioned by the brokers; but there was more to do. To cut a long story short, John replaced the old headlining, had some gelcoat cracks repaired, replaced three windows, internal wiring, standing rigging, navigation lights, engine exhaust elbow, mounts, raw water pump, fuel filters and lines, galley stove and taps... and more besides. He also upgraded and added to the electronics. In other words, be brought a desirable 30-year-old Jeanneau back up to scratch, adding that “the boat has since had a full survey and all was good.”
Since then he’s cruised and raced the boat in the UK, finding the lifting keel very useful, and had hoped to cruise to France in 2020... until coronavirus struck.
Two later Beneteau lifting keel designs illustrate the benefits of twin rudders on a shoal draught cruiser. The First 285 and 29 – designed by Finot – have different keel designs but both benefit from twin rudders. The earlier 285 has a stub ballast keel to provide most of the ballast and a hingeing centreplate that lives inside the keel when raised. The later 29 has a swing keel that provides all the ballast.
The owner of a 285 summed up the lifting keel choices well, saying “hydraulics are complex, prone to oil leaks and need professional upkeep.
“Tackles are simple to maintain provided the ropes and turning blocks are accessible, while mechanical systems work well but need lubrication and can be complicated to repair or replace.”
He went on to say: “The First 285 has a mechanical system, employing an Archimedes screw. Full-up to full-down is 180 turns on a winch handle. I didn’t find the effort problematic.
“Maintaining the Archimedes screw is easy, but I learned by trial and error. The manual says ‘grease it from below’, which is hard to do. In reality it’s only feasible when out of the water for the annual scrub – and then only if on blocks or suspended from a sling. As a result the screw wore out through lack of lubrication and needed replacement. It’s easier to lubricate from above, via the winding handle aperture, using best quality vegetable cooking oil.”
Ballasted shoe and keel
There is one further variety of lifting keel that has proved its worth in cruising circles, and that’s the combination of a
ballasted iron ‘shoe’ attached to the bottom of the hull and a pivoting ballasted keel that adds the upwind bite.
Two early examples of this were the British Southerly 28 from Northshore and the more performance oriented and perhaps underrated Kelt 850 – a French design that subsequently became the Feeling 29 – of which pairing a total of around 1200 were built.
When I test sailed a Kelt 850, I was impressed by both its spacious, well laid-out accommodation and its performance under sail. About the only drawback is its single, shallow skeg-hung rudder that can load up when sailing to windward in a breeze.
This design pre-dates the move to twin rudders that give better ‘bite’ and a lighter helm when the hull is well heeled. One final caveat – the pivoting keel bolt on the test boat needed replacing, which was an expensive job.
Which lifting keel is best?
My own view on this remains pragmatic. Moving heavy weights up and down in a salt-water environment can bring problems, especially on older, well-used yachts. Racing owners seeking ultimate performance will go for a deep, heavy keel and accept the complications and maintenance requirements of ‘mechanical’ lifting systems. As boats age and many of their original builders no longer exist, I would be tempted to take the simpler route and go for a stub ballast keel or internal ballast combined with a lifting keel/plate that’s light enough to lift with a simple tackle. But the following checklist may be of assistance in deciding which system to go for:
Any metal part moving in seawater could need maintaining or even replacing. So it’s important to have a surveyor look at the mechanisms of lifting keels or centreplates before you buy.
The bolt on which a centreplate or keel pivots can become worn or corroded. Check carefully. Make sure the bolt is accessible. And check that a replacement bolt or a suitable alternative can be bought or fabricated.
The winches and lifting tackles (rope, webbing or wire) that raise and lower plates or keels can become tired, worn or frayed. Check them, and find out if replacements are easily available. If in doubt, replace the tackle – better safe than sorry.
Hydraulic lifting systems can leak or work less effectively as they get older. Get them checked. Likewise the rollers and guides against which a lifting keel moves.
Consult the owners’ association of any boat you’re considering buying. Also check with the distributors of the marque regarding price and whether spare parts are available to buy or fabricate.