Humphreys Revolutionary "Scissor Keel"

Folding keels come in a wide variety of shapes and configurations, but all have up until now shared the same problem of being a trade-off between the convenience of being able access hitherto inaccessible shallow anchorages and harbours, versus the problems associated with the highly complex engineering needed to operate the lifting mechanisms and a loss of internal accommodation space.

First shown at the Monaco Yacht Show 2005, the Scissor Keel™ from Humphreys Yacht Design typifies their solutions-led approach to the design of superyachts. Humphreys took as their brief the twin objectives of designing a lifting keel that firstly would present no danger to the yachts in the event of catastrophic failure, and secondly would not take up valuable accommodation space within the hull of the yacht.

The resulting Scissor Keel™ design looks similar to conventional shoal-draft bulb-keeled arrangements, but uniquely the moveable lower section swings transversely into a horizontal position rather than retracting into the yacht, thereby fulfilling the second of the two criteria. An added benefit is that by ensuring that the lower keel has almost neutral buoyancy it requires the minimum of effort or equipment to either retract or deploy.

With the concentration of weight in the upper keel, the loss of the lower section in the event of grounding or similar accident ensures that there will be no significant loss on the yachts’ overall stability. This fulfils the first criteria that the Humphreys design team set themselves, and produces an inherently safe design that at last offers superyacht owners all the advantages of a lifting keel without any of the traditional disadvantages. In fact, in its retracted position the fin will even significantly add to the roll-damping of the yacht when at anchor as it offers substantial resistance to the surrounding water in its horizontal position

For more information, contact:

Rob Humphreys
Humphreys Yacht Design
www.humphreysdesign.com

Locked Down...

Partially Folded...

Fully Retracted...