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Review of Helmsman 26


Helmsman 26
Helmsman 26 anno 1980.


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Helmsman 26 is a sailboat designed by the Swedish maritime architect Håkan Södergren. The Helmsman 26 is built by the Swedish yard Aktiebolaget Helmsman Yacht Design.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Helmsman 26 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. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.


Rig

The Helmsman 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

Unknown keel type

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.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.45 - 1.55 meter (4.76 - 5.06 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 Helmsman 26 is 2.15, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Helmsman 26 is about 150 kg/cm, alternatively 840 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 150 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 840 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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Helmsman 26 is 2.86.

Slim Wide 73% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 73% 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 Helmsman 26 is 37%.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Helmsman 26 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.2.

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


Over- / underrigged

Low High 85% 0 50 100
The Helmsman 26 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 Helmsman 26 is 42

Slow Fast 42% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 42 which means that a it is faster than 42% of all similar sailboat designs.


Maintenance

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 24.8 m(81.4 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard24.8 m(81.4 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard24.8 m(81.4 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 8.0 m(26.2 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet8.0 m(26.2 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 20.0 m(65.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet17.6 m(57.7 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham2.5 m(8.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap5.0 m(16.4 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul5.0 m(16.4 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 Helmsman 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