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Review of Joe 17


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Joe 17 is a small sailboat designed by the Finnish maritime architect Hans Groop in the early seventies. Several hundred boats have been produced. The Joe 17 is built by the Finnish yard Joemarin.

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Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of 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.


Interior

The boat is equipped with one cabin and 2+2 berths.


Rig

The Joe 17 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

Swing keel

The Joe 17 is equipped with a swing keel. A swing keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

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.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.50 - 0.60 meter (1.64 - 1.94 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


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 Joe 17 is 2.54, 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 5.3 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 Joe 17 is about 64 kg/cm, alternatively 360 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 64 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 360 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 Joe 17 is 8.5.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 38% 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 Joe 17 is 2.63.

Wide Slim 54% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% 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 Joe 17 is 26%.

Low High 18% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 18% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Joe 17 is 126 which categorizes this boat among 'ultra light racers'.

Heavy Light 73% 0 50 100
73% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Joe 17 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 19.1, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.8.

Low High 73% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 73% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 85% 0 50 100
The Joe 17 has more rig than 85% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Joe 17 is 66

Slow Fast 66% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 66 which means that a it is faster than 66% 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 11m2 (118 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

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 16.4 m(53.9 feet)6 mm(1/4 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard16.4 m(53.9 feet)6 mm(1/4 inch)
Spinnaker halyard16.4 m(53.9 feet)6 mm(1/4 inch)
Jib sheet 5.3 m(17.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Genoa sheet5.3 m(17.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Mainsheet 13.2 m(43.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker sheet11.6 m(38.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Cunningham2.4 m(7.7 feet)6 mm(1/4 inch)
Kickingstrap4.7 m(15.4 feet)6 mm(1/4 inch)
Clew-outhaul4.7 m(15.4 feet)6 mm(1/4 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 Joe 17 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