Review of Sunward 48
Basic specs.
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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 2 cabins, a galley, 1900.0 liter fresh water capacity, toilet facility and 120.0 liter waste water capacity.
The Sunward 48 is equipped with a ketch rig. A ketch rig is generally considered easier to handle, because the sails are smaller, and because it can sail on most points to the wind with one sail completely taken down for repair or while reefing. The sail configuration of a ketch allows for better comfort and stability when sailing downwind or on a broad reach.
Full keel
The Sunward 48 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.83 - 1.93 meter (6.00 - 6.30 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The Sunward 48 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.
Alternative 1:
Sunward 48 may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar 4JH4-THE diesel engine at 115 hp (85 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.6 knots
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 Detroit diesel engine at 127 hp (94 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.9 knots
The fuel tank, which is made of fibreglass, has a capacity of 1200.0 liters (317 US gallons, 263 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.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Sunward 48 is 1.49, 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 8.3 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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Sunward 48 is about 341 kg/cm, alternatively 1909 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 341 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1909 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 Sunward 48 is 60.4.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Sunward 48 is 3.37.
The ballast ratio for Sunward 48 is 29%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Sunward 48 is 438 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Sunward 48 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 9.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 11.1.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 54m2 (581 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 ketch 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 | 39.4 m | (129.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 39.4 m | (129.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 39.4 m | (129.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 14.6 m | (48.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 14.6 m | (48.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 36.6 m | (120.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 32.2 m | (105.6 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Cunningham | 4.6 m | (15.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 9.1 m | (30.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 9.1 m | (30.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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