take your wife and family out on the ocean and travel any distance for any length of time then it is incumbent upon you to pick a boat that is robust enough to handle the unexpected weather and unforeseen brick that you may encounter along the way. I know the argument about the speed of a fin over the strength of a full keel. Evan Starzenger and I talked at length about it one morning over coffee. While his argument was strong, and no one can doubt his and Beth's experience and expertise, I still hold that a full keel with attached rudder will hold up better and in the over all, suit the cruiser better. We have either run aground or we will run aground depending on how long you stay in boating. You have hit something at sea or you will hit something, again, depending on how long you sail. You have picked up a fishing net, lobster pot line or floating piece canvas, it's just a matter of time and you are less likely to do it in a full keel boat. I sail with fin keel boats off the coast of Mexico all the time and they are always changing course to avoid a long line or fishing net. If I see one, which is unlikely at night anyway, I just put the engine in neutral and coast over it just to be on the safe side. If I'm sailing then I just keep going. I never change course. I don't know how many I've run over at night. Full keel boats just make sense if you cruse. IMHO. I don't know if these folks hit something that started the problem back originally or it was just a bad design or poor layup to begin with but it seems we hear about this happening all the time. At least we can be glad that they're safe.