Review of Seafarer 23 Challenger

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.

The Seafarer 23 Challenger 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.

Fin keel

The Seafarer 23 Challenger is equipped with 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.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.99 - 1.09 meter (3.25 - 3.55 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Seafarer 23 Challenger is 2.22, indicating that this boat would not 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 6.0 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 Seafarer 23 Challenger is about 94 kg/cm, alternatively 528 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 94 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 528 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Seafarer 23 Challenger is 12.7.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Seafarer 23 Challenger is 2.99.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Seafarer 23 Challenger is 40%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Seafarer 23 Challenger is 142 which categorizes this boat among 'ultra light racers'.

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

The SA/D for Seafarer 23 Challenger with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.4.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 15m² (161 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.

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.

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If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.