• @PM_Your_Nudes_Please
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    65 months ago

    “Fixed” refers to the fact that the keel isn’t removable. It’s either part of the boat’s hull, or it’s bolted on and can’t be removed without dry-docking the boat.

    There are some boat designs with removable keels. For instance, many small sailboats (called a dinghy) have removable keels, so you can remove the keel and beach them easily. The downside to having a removable keel on a sailboat is that it makes the boat prone to capsizing in strong winds; A fixed keel can have a built in ballast to keep the boat from tipping. But on a dinghy, you need to use a live ballast (literally your own body weight leaning out of the boat) to counteract the wind’s effects.

    • @riodoro1
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      25 months ago

      Isn’t a non weighted and removable „keel” on small sailing dinghies called a „dagger board” and is there only for mitigating drift?

    • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
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      15 months ago

      That’s some fun stuff though, especially on a catamaran when one of the two hulls is entirely is up in the air.