Is a Double keel on a kayak more stable?

Captaintom62 · Post by **Captaintom62** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:11 pm

I am 90% complete with my Poweryak. We have a 150 lb dog that does not understand "Stay still" and need to make the boat more stable. Would adding a double keel reduce the port to starboard rocking?? I would be making the keels removable and out of thin Stainless Steel strips. The poweryak is 17' long and 32" of beam. The keels would be 10' long x 6" wide and about 1/8" thick. I would think that anything I can add to reduce the twisting motion of the boat would be better. Of course I understand that I will be adding weight. The poweryak is powered by an Electric trolling motor.

leakcheck · Post by **leakcheck** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:06 pm

I don't know the answer to your question but here is an observation:

My dog always wants to go with my on my two beer cruises. She is only about 35lbs...and when she walks from one side of the boat to the other the boat turns that way and I have to adjust my course...I really dont know if it is because of the change of angle on the keel or the fact that there is just that more resistance on that side of the boat as it sits deeper in the water causing more friction (which is what I would assume)...but if my little mungrel makes my 52" wide boat do that...I cant imagine what will happen with yours....

Can you swim?

Steve

Post by **BruceDow** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:43 pm

wow. a 150 lb dog in a 32" wide boat... that sounds pretty exciting...

Having Lukey, our 50 lb retriever, as a passenger leads to a pretty wild ride when we try to bring him in our open stripper Canoe. Eventually, he just jumps out and swims along beside us. (we don't go too far or too fast)

When I kayak, I've trained him to just swim along beside me in a nice "heel" (or should I say "keel").

anyways, I'm sure your double keels would control the lateral roll to some degree, but have you thought about turning the boat? My 17' kayak is keelless, and even with a good outward lean it probably has a turning radius of about 15 or 20 meters. It seems to me that twin 6" "razor keels" would put your boat "on rails", and may be a one-way ticket to the other side of the lake.

Captaintom62 · Post by **Captaintom62** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:19 am

Bruce: Excellent advice. I wasn't thinking about the "rail" aspect of the turning radius reduction. Perhaps I will shorten the length of the keel strip, similar to a sail boat design?? Or I could add a hinged rudder to the end of the keel?? Any more ideas or input?? please keep it coming. I will add that the trolling motor has a turning capabilities and pierces the hull about 3 feet from the stern

Post by **Nova SS** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:46 am

An outrigger might be your best option at keeping that boat upright in the water

Graham Knight · Post by **Graham Knight** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:50 am

Our Tibetan Spaniel only weighs about 11lbs, but when she spots another dog/cat/swan etc..., and moves from one side of my 46" wide skiff to the other the weight shift is quite noticeable, enough that I usually "catch a crab" if I'm rowing. In my considerably narrower canoe it's a definite lurch if she moves suddenly.
A 150lb dog that can't sit still in a 32" wide boat sounds like a recipe for disaster! That's heavier than my wife, and if she suddenly lurched from one side of the boat to the other I think we'd be swimming!