OPTIMIZING KEELS

The keel is one of the most critical elements of a sailing vessel; many keels, however, fall short of the original architectural design.

Optimizing keels for racing has been a specialty at Fraser Fibreglass Ltd. for decades. We can transfer the original drawings, make keel templates and fair the keel to the precise original design. When it comes to the more serious racer, optimizing keels and rudders is given special attention to achieve maximum performance.

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Some factory keels are cast poorly, faired with bondo type polyester fillers and because of this, will slowly blister. Others may look smooth and fast but are not really close to original specification.

Keel fairing is undertaken using epoxy fairing compounds. Epoxies do not suffer from blistering, poor adhesion and shrinkage that polyesters are known for.

Some customers choose to have a simpler keel fairing project done. This usually involves filling lows, sanding down high spots and fairing the keel to an overall standard that the boat owner decides. Although this type of keel fairing will help improve lift and reduce drag, it is still only guessing compared to an optimizing keel job.