Mainly local heavy cargo.
A keel stabilizes a boat allowing it to go in a straight line (one direction).
a keel boat
Keel boats were and are used for transporting cargo, mainly inshore and on navigable rivers. They are powered barges in effect.
The keel provides stability AND steerage.
KEEL
on the bottom
The keel is important because it forces the boat to move forwards when the force of the wind on the sails might also be pushing the boat sideways. The keel stops the boat simply going directly downwind.
Viking longships, starting in the 700s AD, had a mast with a sail. To make a boat with a sail stable, a keel is needed to counteract the tipping forces the wind places on the sail. Prior to the sail being added, longships did not require or have keels.
The distance between the bottom and the keel of a boat is the draught (British English).
they used a keel boat, canoes, and pirouges
The keel .
keel