Carver Owners Forum

This has turned into a hull discussion. I love all the great feedback. Thank You.

RuffLife wrote:Qr Bbpost As for the hull of the Mariner, it has a decent V shape at the bow but there is almost no deadrise at the stern and certainly no keel. It is certainly not a comfortable boat in even moderate seas for any length of time. I affectionately refer to it as the rubber ducky.

I would like to put in my observation. I spend A LOT of time at the marina. We push our boating season past Thanksgiving up here in NY. By this time of the year, all the Big Boats are out of water and dry docked at the Marina. I've seen the bottom designs of many different boats. All but one of our boats in our Marina have a keel. It's a houseboat. We have Searays, Carvers, Silvertons, Monterys, Wellcrafts, Rinkers. All over the 30' mark. We are in a bay so we don't have anything longer then 45'. Are keels reservered for more of an Ocean Going type?

A keel provides additional stability in rough waters. Any large ocean going vessel will have a keel. Usually the larger the vessel, the deeper the keel.
If your boating is in the bay and normally in relatively calm waters, I personally wouldn't worry to much about having a keel.