Review of Fjord 38

Fjord 38.

Basic specs.

The Fjord 38 aka Fisherman is a large motorboat designed by the Norwegian maritime architect Eivind Amble in the early seventies.

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Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Keel

Unknown keel type

The boat 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.

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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Fjord 38 is about 310 kg/cm, alternatively 1737 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 310 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1737 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 Fjord 38 is 3.12.

Compared with other similar motor boats it is more spacy than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Curiosities

Powerboat?

In Denmark, you are required to have achieved a 'powerboat driving license' in order to sail a powerboat.
In this context a boat is considered a powerboat if:

Danish definition of a powerboat

According to this definition this boat is not categorized as a Powerboat.
Though, if you install a motor of 139 kW (187 hp), then the boat will become a powerboat, and you will need a Danish 'powerboat driving license'

Maintenance

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 Fjord 38 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

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.