Review of Mistral 33
Basic specs.
Looking for a new boat? Find a Mistral 33 or similar boat for sale
The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
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 6 berths, a galley, 100.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.
The Mistral 33 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.
The Mistral 33 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Fin keel
One option is 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.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.47 - 1.57 meter (4.82 - 5.12 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Fin keel
Another option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long 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.
Mistral 33 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.47 - 1.57 meter (4.82 - 5.12 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD2B diesel engine at 25 hp (18 kW). The speed is 7.1 knots.
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.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Mistral 33 is 1.76, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.7 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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Mistral 33 is about 154 kg/cm, alternatively 866 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 154 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 866 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.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Mistral 33 is 30.1.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Mistral 33 is 3.37.
The ballast ratio for Mistral 33 is 46%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Mistral 33 is 323 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Mistral 33 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.2, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.1.
What is Relative Speed Performance?
The Relative Speed Performance for Mistral 33 is 18
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 26m2 (279 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.
Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 29.5 m | (96.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 29.5 m | (96.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 29.5 m | (96.8 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 10.2 m | (33.4 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 10.2 m | (33.4 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 25.4 m | (83.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 22.4 m | (73.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Cunningham | 3.7 m | (12.2 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 7.4 m | (24.3 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 7.4 m | (24.3 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
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.
We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Mistral 33 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.