• @PM_Your_Nudes_Please
    link
    English
    61 month 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
      link
      English
      21 month 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
      link
      English
      11 month ago

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