We were contacted by an owner whose boat did not perform very well at higher speeds. The stern was too low in the water and the boat was carrying almost 285 kg of lead in the bilge.
The concept was to replace the lead bulb of the keel with a heavier bulb with a centre of gravity further forward. The additional weight in the keel would allow removing the lead in the bilge without reducing the righting moment.
We carried out the design of the new bulb completely in 3D which allowed accurate predictions of weights and centres of gravity. The result of the modification was a reduction in boat weight of 165 kg, a centre of gravity that is 100 mm further forward and an increased righting moment compared to the original design. Besides that, the new keel has a much more efficient T shape instead of the old L shape.
The created 3D files were sent straight to the foundry and used to CNC machine the mould pattern with high accuracy.
We are looking forward to learn how the boat performs after the modifications.