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Review of Polaris Drabant 26


Polaris Drabant 26
Polaris Drabant 26. Herslev Strand Sejlklub 2002


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Polaris Drabant 26 aka Drabant 26 or PD26 aka PD26 is a sailboat designed by the Danish maritime architect Gert Gerlach in the early seventies. Several hundred boats have been produced. The Polaris Drabant 26 is built by the Danish yard A/S Nilling's Bådeværft.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Polaris Drabant 26 or similar boat for sale

Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of hand laid fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.
The hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.


Interior
Interior
Interior of Polaris Drabant 26 anno 1980.

The interior is like many other boats made of mahogany. Mahogany belongs to the hardwood species, known for being water-repellent and resistant to decay. It has an attractive wood grain and holds wood polish and varnish well.
The boat is equipped with 5 berths, a galley, 50.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

Note: the boat has also been sold to be self-made/-interiored, which means that the quality of each boat may vary.


Cockpit
Cockpit
Cockpit of Polaris Drabant 26 anno 1980.
Rig
Rig
Rig of Polaris Drabant 26 anno 1975. Polaris Drabant no. 138

The Polaris Drabant 26 is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.


Keel
Keel
Keel of Polaris Drabant 26 anno 1980.

Fin keel

The Polaris Drabant 26 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 iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

Polaris Drabant 26 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.42 - 1.52 meter (4.66 - 4.96 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine
Motor
Polaris Drabant 26 anno 1973.

The Polaris Drabant 26 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine at 8 hp (5 kW). The speed is 5.0 knots.

Alternative 2:

An outboard motor is often used on this boat. In that case the boat will typically require a power of 5 - 6 hp, alternatively 116 - 139 lbs thrust if you prefer an electrical motor. Electric outboards are becoming popular for sailboat owners who want clean instant power with less noise and no exhaust fumes.

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 30.0 liters (7 US gallons, 6 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 Polaris Drabant 26 is 1.81, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 6.2 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 Polaris Drabant 26 is about 107 kg/cm, alternatively 602 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 107 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 602 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 Polaris Drabant 26 is 24.1.

Low High 79% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 79% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Polaris Drabant 26 is 3.19.

Wide Slim 73% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 73% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Polaris Drabant 26 is 55%.

Low High 96% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 96% 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 Polaris Drabant 26 is 265 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 34% 0 50 100
34% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Polaris Drabant 26 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 14.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.6.

Low High 24% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 24% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 15% 0 50 100
The Polaris Drabant 26 has more rig than 15% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly underrigged.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Polaris Drabant 26 is 54

Slow Fast 54% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 54 which means that a it is faster than 54% of all similar sailboat designs.


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 19m2 (204 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 for fractional rig.

mainsail specifications genoa specifications spinnaker specifications

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
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 23.6 m(77.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard23.6 m(77.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard23.6 m(77.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 7.9 m(25.9 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet7.9 m(25.9 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 19.7 m(64.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet17.3 m(56.9 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham2.8 m(9.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap5.6 m(18.4 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul5.6 m(18.4 feet)8 mm(5/16 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 Polaris Drabant 26 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