boat owner

Boats

Operating the Steynor Keel

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This shows the extended keel and the box into which it retracts. In this

situation, with the keel touching the ground, the keel is locked in position.

Pulling on the

retraction strap,

which runs between the

two plates and

terminates inside the

bulb, initially moves the

top of the aft plate

rearwards. This

movement allows the

top of the aft plate to

clear the down lock

stop, which it engages

with when the keel is

touching the ground.

LEFT The keel was mocked up in plywood, before being cast in iron – seen here in the foundry

making guitars, cabinet work and
keeping bees ever since, as well as
a childhood spent inventing and
tinkering – led him towards a solution.
‘Having flown for years, I have never
boarded an aircraft to find a large box in
the cabin to house the undercarriage,’
he told PBO. ‘On small cruising boats,
space is at a premium – but with
swinging or lifting keels there is
always a keel box in the cabin.’
His solution is the Steynor Keel.
Housed in a shallow box which will fit
under the cabin floor, the keel is similar
in principle to an aircraft undercarriage.
Consisting of two parts that are linked
with a hinge located in the keel bulb, it
extends under its own weight, and locks
into place to become a fixed keel that
can take the full weight of the boat.
To retract, a manual or electric winch
tensions a webbing strap which runs
down between the two halves of the
keel, which lifts the bulb, and the top of
the aft half of the keel runs along rollers,
allowing the whole assembly to raise
and retract into its box. This also means
that the centre of gravity of the keel is
low even when retracted, making the
boat nicely stable even with the keel up.

Extended keel

Keel box

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