Sail boat on canal?

[kd-shard]

Hi. I'm new to boating and recently purchased a 22ft sail boat for a sum of £60, and believe it or not for that price it actually floats and has a months free mooring. Anyway it has a keel and a draft of (according to online specs) 3ft 9inches (1.14m) . My question is would this be suitable for most canals? To be honest this boat will never sail again. We have plans to convert it into a tiny home with a extra covering built onto the rear so we can use it for weekends or going on canals. Worst case could we remove the keel and fiberglass underneath without too much movement or having it tip? My only worry is coming across a shallow area.

 I know removing a keel is a bit of a painful process and really is a last resort, just looking for opinions, information or even if someone knows of anyone with a small sail boat on a canal

[Rob-M]

I think you would be dragging the bottom quite a bit and may struggle to get close to the bank to moor.

Edited December 18, 2019 by Rob-M

[WotEver]

5 minutes ago, kd-shard said:

it has a keel and a draft of (according to online specs) 3ft 9inches (1.14m) . My question is would this be suitable for most canals?

Nope. Not most. Some maybe. Experts who actually know what they’re talking about will no doubt turn up soon. 

[johnmoly]

Most narrowboats have a draft of 2' or just over, and as the word says are about 6'10" wide.  How wide is your boat.

[WotEver]

Just now, johnmoly said:

How wide is your boat.

A good question. 

[The Dreamer]

This will answer your question, regarding draught:

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/32433-waterway-dimensions.pdf

 

As interestingly, how the heck are you going to tack a sail boat on a canal that is probably only 20ft wide?

Edited December 18, 2019 by The Dreamer

[kd-shard]

1 minute ago, Rob-M said:

I think you would be dragging the bottom quite a bit and may struggle to get close to the bank to moor.

That is one of my worries. I don't want it to become stuck or worse case damage the boat. 

 

3 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Nope. Not most. Some maybe. Experts who actually know what they’re talking about will no doubt turn up soon. 

That is what I was worried about.

1 minute ago, johnmoly said:

Most narrowboats have a draft of 2' or just over, and as the word says are about 6'10" wide.  How wide is your boat.

The boat is 6'11" 

1 minute ago, The Dreamer said:

This will answer your question, regarding draft:

 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/32433-waterway-dimensions.pdf

 

As interestingly, how the heck are you going to tack a sail boat on a canal that is probably only 20ft wide?

Brilliant link thank you! Didn't even know such a guide existed. This is quite a small sail boat. It is 6ft 11" wide and 22ft long. 

[churchward]

15 minutes ago, kd-shard said:

Hi. I'm new to boating and recently purchased a 22ft sail boat for a sum of £60, and believe it or not for that price it actually floats and has a months free mooring. Anyway it has a keel and a draft of (according to online specs) 3ft 9inches (1.14m) . My question is would this be suitable for most canals? To be honest this boat will never sail again. We have plans to convert it into a tiny home with a extra covering built onto the rear so we can use it for weekends or going on canals. Worst case could we remove the keel and fiberglass underneath without too much movement or having it tip? My only worry is coming across a shallow area.

 I know removing a keel is a bit of a painful process and really is a last resort, just looking for opinions, information or even if someone knows of anyone with a small sail boat on a canal

You would like need to take at least a 1ft off the draft of the boat to be able to cruise most of the canals.  You can compensate for the shorter keel by adding some weight to the bilge.  It is never going to be an ideal boat for the canals though.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Where in the UK are you? Where would you want to boat? Will you' be powering it with an engine of some sort as well as sail. Bridges are a problem for masts. Have you considered the Norfolk Broads? Sail is used there, but folks get very slick about getting the mast down passing under bridges, or the bridge does it for them! Removing the keel is going to make it impossible to sail. The Yorkshire waterways have long stretches of suitable depth.

Jen

Edited December 18, 2019 by Jen-in-Wellies

[churchward]

7 minutes ago, The Dreamer said:

 

As interestingly, how the heck are you going to tack a sail boat on a canal that is probably only 20ft wide?

Often and quickly

[Ray T]

Here is your average narrow canal profile:

 

The Manchester Ship canal is somewhat deeper although I feel Peel Holdings will not be overly happy if you try to sail your boat there. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by Ray T

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 minute ago, Ray T said:

Here is your average narrow canal profile:

And typical depth of water!

[The Dreamer]

1 minute ago, Ray T said:

Here is your average narrow canal profile:

 

The Manchester Ship canal is somewhat deeper although I feel Peel Holdings will not be overly happy if you try to sail your boat there. 

 

Surprising lack of shopping trolleys, tyres, deflated footballs and stollen safes in this photo!

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, churchward said:

Often and quickly

With no keel?

[kd-shard]

Okay so to try and answer my intentions with the boat. I don't have any intention of it ever sailing again. Masts and everything removed completely and will be powered by a small outboard motor. I've no issues with chopping the keel or removing it completely, judging by comments this is an option I will likely have to figure out. Hoping someone has done something similar. 

[ditchcrawler]

6 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

  Bridges are a problem for masts. 

Jen

I was once told there is an average of 3 bridges to the mile

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, kd-shard said:

Anyway it has a keel and a draft of (according to online specs) 3ft 9inches (1.14m)

My boat has a draft of 4' 6" and apart from the big commercial canal / rivers I have yet to find a 'normal' canal on which it will float without touching bottom.

 

The majority of canal are allegedly dredged to about 1 metre (3' 3") but many are far, far less.

The river Trent is allegedly (C&RT's own figures) dredged to 6' but I bottom out with a 4' 6" draft in a number of places in the MNC (Main navigable Channel)

 

Save your £60 and buy a little 'rubber' boat with a small engine it will be far more practical for canal use.

 

 

[Rob-M]

Here's a sailing boat on the Gloucester Sharpness canal.

 

 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

3 minutes ago, The Dreamer said:

Surprising lack of shopping trolleys

The picture must have been taken outside the breeding season. They return to the canals to spawn. A majestic sight seeing them jump over the lock gates heading to the summit pound.

[churchward]

Just now, ditchcrawler said:

With no keel?

I have sailed a canoe with no keel.  A fin for instance keel bites the water to limit sideways movement of the boat but similar can be achieved with weight in the right place although not as efficiently.

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, The Dreamer said:

...............…. deflated footballs and stollen ………...

I suppose it is getting near Christmas !!!

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[Jen-in-Wellies]

A sailing canal boat. Humber Keel, Spider T at Keadby on the  left of the picture in 2011.

 

[Dr Bob]

37 minutes ago, kd-shard said:

Worst case could we remove the keel and fiberglass underneath without too much movement or having it tip? My only worry is coming across a shallow area.

 

What shape is the hull of the boat and is it a fin keel? Sailing boats are designed with a keel to stop them inverting. Sawing off the keel even with no mast or sails could make it very unstable and it may be difficult to get enough weight in the bilge to make it stable. How old is it? The older boats ie pre 1990's are likely to have much better stability.

Knowing a fair bit about sailing yachts, it seems a daft idea to me to saw the keel off to use it on shallow canals.

[The Dreamer]

15 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I suppose it is getting near Christmas !!!

 

Not my worse typo of the day.  Sent a report out referring to the  defecate model, as opposed to the deficit model!

[kd-shard]

The £60 boat is the same as the one pictured here (Not this exact boat). You can see the keel. We want to remove the mast completely, no sailing. Just out board with a roof built over the rear. Not my first crazy project but my first on water. I've no interest at all in bringing a boat to the sea even though I live pretty much next to it (Essex). I want to be able to bring it down rivers and canals for weekends away, could be anywhere, no where specific. I'm self employed so I sometimes do 7 days a week for a month and then might take a week or 2 off with my missus as she is on a flexible contract with her work. Just something fun. Also I'm no stranger to construction work, fiberglass or wiring solar panels and 12 volt systems, but by trade I actually have a motorcycle business in restorations, custom builds, bodywork, custom panels made from fiberglass, paint work, custom made brake brackets, pretty much everything, so I'm hoping some of my skills will come in handy to fixing up the boat. As I said, only worry is that keel lol.

6 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

What shape is the hull of the boat and is it a fin keel? Sailing boats are designed with a keel to stop them inverting. Sawing off the keel even with no mast or sails could make it very unstable and it may be difficult to get enough weight in the bilge to make it stable. How old is it? The older boats ie pre 1990's are likely to have much better stability.

Knowing a fair bit about sailing yachts, it seems a daft idea to me to saw the keel off to use it on shallow canals.

Sorry didn't see your reply. Hopefully my last post reply answers about the shape. Its actually a 1970 Pandora. Its had work to it to make it all water tight and keel bolts are all in good condition, but its a bare bones project.