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Post by loyalroyal on Nov 5, 2013 17:20:09 GMT
Hi everyone
I'm thinking of buying a SO37 2000/2004 vintage. Some of the boats I'm considering have shoal draft keels and others the standard deeper fin. Shoal draft has its attractions sailing as I do out of Chichester but at what cost to the boats sailing performance. I assume that the standard fin will sail better to windward or on a reach but my question is how much better? Can anyone out there advise?
Thanks in anticipation
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Post by MalcolmP on Nov 5, 2013 17:37:57 GMT
Welcome to the forum and I hope you find an SO37 that suits you, they are very well regarded.
To the point, I am probably rather shallow draft biased having had a First 305, Sun Odyssey 34.2 and now SO39i all with shoal drafts
Overall I am sure there is a trade off in absolute pointing ability, but things like having good well set up sails are probably greater - IE a deep draft 37 with baggy sails will not point anything as well as a shallow draft with good sails, so the difference won't be massive. A larger limitation (also related to sail trim) is that the shallow draft also has a shorter rudder, so you will probably find it will loose grip when being sailed on her ear - of course these designs should not be heeled too much, but gusts are inevitable. I have retrofitted a german mainsheet so that I can now easily control the main in gusts to stop rounding up and it works very well.
Overall I guess it depends on what cruising you do, we were based on the East Coast and in Langstone for a while so the shallow draft really paid off. Of course if you plan to race then I would go with the deep fin, but for most normal cruising I think you will be very pleased with the versatility of the shallow draft and they perform quite well in any regard
Do let the forum know the outcome
Malcolm
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Post by loyalroyal on Nov 5, 2013 20:12:50 GMT
Thats very helpful Malcolm I'll let you know how I get on.
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Post by electricmonk on Nov 7, 2013 12:56:25 GMT
Hi everyone I'm thinking of buying a SO37 2000/2004 vintage. Some of the boats I'm considering have shoal draft keels and others the standard deeper fin. Shoal draft has its attractions sailing as I do out of Chichester but at what cost to the boats sailing performance. I assume that the standard fin will sail better to windward or on a reach but my question is how much better? Can anyone out there advise? Thanks in anticipation In 2000 I purchased a new 37 with the shallow draft keel. It was one of the reasons why I sold it. Try as I might there was no way I could compete with the deep draft version to windward, we even changed skippers to rule out my poor sailing ability. yes we agreed we were both bad. . . . EDIT: We swapted boats, I left mine standing! On reflection the ride was much better with the deep keel seemed to be more stable and the extra rudder made a lot of difference pointing. I had to reef earlier to stop rounding up and the other boat stayed in the groove and disappeared over the horizon. |
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Post by loyalroyal on Nov 8, 2013 11:39:54 GMT
Thats really very helpful. You have confirmed my worst suspicions about a shoal draft keel on this type of boat. Nothing beats first hand experience which you clearly have. Thank you for taking the trouble to respond.
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Post by MalcolmP on Nov 8, 2013 18:16:46 GMT
I'm glad that I now have an excuse at the ready when someone comes past  |
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Post by Don Reaves on Nov 8, 2013 21:16:39 GMT
Gee, my keel needs work this winter, with quite a bit of rust showing. Maybe I should swap it for a deep keel! Don |
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Post by reverie on Nov 13, 2013 0:27:46 GMT
I've been mulling this post for a few days, and decided I had to chime in with the other (minority?) point of view. My boat is a 2004 SO35 with a shoal draft keel. Draft is 4'9". This was my 5th summer with the boat. And they've been 5 great years of cruising Lake Huron's Georgian Bay and the North Channel. This summer we took a couple of weeks and did a 300nm circumnavigation of Georgian Bay with lots of stops. As some of you may be aware, declining water levels are a major issue here. Many marinas and anchorages are not as deep as they once were. Rocks are popping up in surprising and new places. First and foremost, I'm a cruiser. If I want a dose of Tuesday night beer can racing, I'll hop on a friend's J/30. He's so desperate for crew, he'll even supply the beer. And if any gelcoat is going to be traded, I'd rather be on someone else's boat  Admittedly, my boat doesn't point as high as the deep draft boats - I may give up as much as 10 degrees. But this is irrelevant because a gentleman should never sail his guests to weather. And on a beam reach or off the wind, I'm every bit as fast as anyone else with a similar sized boat. So if the wind is on the nose, spend another day where you're at and enjoy the scenery. Yes, I reef early to keep my family feeling comfortable, but we have no complaints about how the boat behaves in a seaway. But mostly I'm relieved that I can still slide into my favorite anchorages up north that the deeper boats are now struggling with. And unlike some other boats, I'm not getting stuck in my marina. So if I had to do it all over again, would I buy a shoal draft SO35? In a heartbeat. Horses for courses, I suppose. John |
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