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Review of Oceanis 311 Clipper




Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Oceanis 311 Clipper is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect bureau Groupe Finot in the late nineties. A few thousand boats have been produced.

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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.


Interior

The interior is like few other boats made in cherry.
The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 6 berths, a galley, 200.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.


Rig

The Oceanis 311 Clipper 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

The Oceanis 311 Clipper has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

One 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 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 1.45 - 1.55 meter (4.76 - 5.06 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

CentreBoard

Another option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

This keel is also made of iron.

Oceanis 311 Clipper can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.80 - 0.90 meter (2.62 - 2.92 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The Oceanis 311 Clipper has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

Alternative 2:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD2020 diesel engine at 18 hp (13 kW).

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 70.0 liters (18 US gallons, 15 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.

EU classification

Oceanis 311 Clipper holds two CE certifications:

If less than 6 in on board the boat is by European Union certified as Class B. OFFSHORE:
Designed for offshore voyages where conditions up to, and including, wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 4 m may be experienced.

If less than 8 in on board the boat is by European Union certified as Class C. INSHORE:
Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and rivers where conditions up to, and including, wind force 6 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 2 m may be experienced.


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 Oceanis 311 Clipper is about 190 kg/cm, alternatively 1066 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 190 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1066 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 Oceanis 311 Clipper is 2.94.

Slim Wide 69% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 69% 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 Oceanis 311 Clipper is 30%.

Low High 7% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 7% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.


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 31m2 (333 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

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
Jib sheet 9.5 m(31.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet9.5 m(31.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet 23.8 m(77.9 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet20.9 m(68.6 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 Oceanis 311 Clipper 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