How safe is your yacht’s keel?

Regular checks can help prevent catastrophic ballast failure, which can be seriously dangerous and occasionally fatal. Ben Sutcliffe-Davies explains what to look for…

Few yachts have issues caused directly by the design of the keel. Almost all the failures I deal with are from hull damage that has gone unnoticed or poor repairs of common problems, such as constant, regular grounding, or rare incidents such as contact with a submerged shipping container.

While it’s important to check keel fittings over time for signs of stress...