Heeling (capsizing) characteristics of Edel 4

[Uschtrin Wilhelm]

Hello,

my name is Will, I am new here. I hope it’s alright to be writing in English.

I am about to buy an Edel 4 in Portugal and was wondering if someone could share some experiences about its heeling characteristics.

Truth be told, I am a bit concerned about the lifting keel and what that means for stronger wind. I’ve sailed on Laser Bahias a bit the last couple of months, and those do capsize quite easily. While that doesn’t matter much for a Bahia, I think it must be almost catastrophic for an Edel 4, with the cabin potentially taking lots of water?

At the same time I feel like this would be a serious design flaw, so I am sort of hoping that you guys will tell me it’s a non-issue for some reason that I haven’t considered.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cheers
Will

PS: I feel so lucky that the boat I am about to buy has a community like this. For example I already looked at the ongoing restoration thread, which is very inspiring! Happy to be here!

 

[Isabelle]

Hello Will,

Welcome here !

Don’t worry, no issue. In fact, you compare 2 different boats : the Laser Bahia is a fun and fast dinghy, just to sail a few hours in front of the sailing school or the beach in (quite) good conditions, whereas the Edel IV is a real cruise sailboat built to face more difficult conditions at sea.

Apart from sailing on an Edel IV presenting major defects on the keel, you  will sail safely on an Edel IV and do not capsize. As for all old boats, you have just to check meticulously several points before buying the boat (hull/osmosis, lifting keel system, rigging, mast…)

I’m not an expert of Edel IV but you’ll find here many people to speak about this boat.

Have a nice evening.

Isabelle

[Uschtrin Wilhelm]

Hello Isabelle,

thanks for the warm welcome!

Could you elaborate what exactly it is that makes the Edel4 so different from the Bahia? Because at the surface they do look kind of similar to me. Or is it that the lifting keel of the Edel4 has substantial weight, whereas the Bahia’s ist basically just a daggerboard?

Kind regards and you too

Will

[Isabelle]

Yes, absolutely : the Edel IV (24 ft) lifting keel is much heavier than the daggerboard of a small dinghy (15 ft); and other parameters such as length / weight of the hull + ratio with the surface of sails must be taken into consideration as well. An Edel IV in good condition / with no major defects is a safe and stable boat.

 

[Uschtrin Wilhelm]

Alright then. Thank you, Isabelle! :)

[Alain Diart]

Hi Will !

I wouldn’t be concerned – at all – about capsizing an Edel 4 (nor any of the monohull this size, even intergral centerboard sailboats). Unless you are in HUGE breaker waves, taller than the boat itself (and you shouldn’t be there), it seems quite unlikely.

If it was, I wouldn’t take my kids aboard, and wouldn’t have bought this boat in the first place.

This boat is stable, will heel at something like 20° in rough weather.

Don’t launch the spinnaker unless you are confident doing so and you’ll be alright.

You still have to reef your sail according to the conditions, but it has more to do with sailing with less efforts and keeping the boat intact (not breaking things) than capsizing the boat.

 

[Uschtrin Wilhelm]

Hi Alain,

thanks for the reassurance! That all sounds very reasonable…

It seems my experiences with the Bahia are not transferrable, maybe its rig is oversized for the weight/ballast it has. I mean, you can pretty much lift/carry it with two people, which is not possible with the Edel 4.

Thanks for the input! Also the pointers about the spinnaker and reefing.

Cheers
Will

[Auteur]

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