Review of Baltic 37

Baltic 37.

Basic specs.

The Baltic 37 is a sailboat designed by the Canadian maritime architect bureau C&C Design Group in the late seventies. Less than 100 boats have been produced. The Baltic 37 is built by the Finnish yard Baltic Yachts Ltd..

Looking for a new boat? Find a Baltic 37 or similar boat for sale

Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 8 berths.

Keel

The Baltic 37 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Unknown keel type

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.10 - 2.20 meter (6.89 - 7.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel

The Baltic 37 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

Baltic 37 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.03 - 2.13 meter (6.66 - 6.96 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD11C diesel engine at 24 hp (17 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.3 knots

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 80.0 liters (21 US gallons, 17 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Baltic 37 is 2.01, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.2 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Baltic 37 is about 215 kg/cm, alternatively 1208 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 215 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1208 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Baltic 37 is 24.3.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 31% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Baltic 37 is 3.09.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 66% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Baltic 37 is 45%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 79% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Baltic 37 is 251 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

50% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. This boat has a precise average ratio between displacement and length!

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 38m² (409 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	34.4 m	(112.9 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	34.4 m	(112.9 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	34.4 m	(112.9 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet	11.3 m	(37.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	11.3 m	(37.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	28.2 m	(92.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	24.9 m	(81.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Cunningham	3.6 m	(11.8 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap	7.2 m	(23.6 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul	7.2 m	(23.6 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Baltic 37 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.