Review of Balboa 26
Basic specs.
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The Balboa 26 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Swing keel
One option is a swing keel. A swing keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.55 - 0.65 meter (1.80 - 2.10 ft) dependent on the load.
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 boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.52 - 1.62 meter (4.99 - 5.29 ft) dependent on the load.
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 Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.1 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.
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.
The ballast ratio for Balboa 26 is 33%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Balboa 26 is 178 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Balboa 26 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 20.1, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 24.0.
Maintenance
Dimensions of sail.
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 | 20.2 m | (66.3 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 20.2 m | (66.3 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 20.2 m | (66.3 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 7.9 m | (26.0 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 7.9 m | (26.0 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 19.8 m | (65.0 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 17.4 m | (57.2 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
| Cunningham | 3.3 m | (10.8 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 6.6 m | (21.6 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 6.6 m | (21.6 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
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