Pius Bielowski's Page

appreciate your interest! we tried that. a length of v-shaped stainless was very hard to fit on the banana shaped keel.. would have to be cut into too many section and rwelded over and over . On our traditional Kaiki in  Greece we used to put a piece of hardwood called 'kontrakarena' but that was a straight keel. We will gave,: to renew the epoxy/roving shielding every now and then. not a very big deal.

Yes, I was thinking about that but then: the width of the keel is really only qabout 1 cm because of the V-shaped hull and I am reluctant to put screws in there... Will see how the new layers of mat and roving are faring this year and see then.

I liked your description of your trip with the Tiki 21. The idea to make the keel a bit deeper and rectangular is interesting. Will try that, but first there must be some mor "beef" to put screws in. A hardwood kontrakarena of about 2 x 2 cms, that can be easily changed if needed can surely help beaching and contribute to better windward performance.

It is very true, what you say at the end of your trip description: People look at you different when you arrive in a small boat. I see that especially here in the Philippines. So easy to make friends and nobody looks at you as a money bag..

Hello Pius!