An analysis of the effect of endplates upon the fin keel of a sailing yacht

A long-term investigation is presently underway to assess the overall performance of the modern design of fin keels for sailing yachts. An ultimate goal is to determine the specific advantages for such designs with respect to a centre-board configuration with outside ballast. The present preliminary studies were carried out to determine the basic performance of a typical fin keel shape for various values of leeway angle. A second aspect was to determine the effect upon this baseline performance of a number of endplates of varying sizes and shapes. (author)