Review of LM 32

LM 32 anno 1984.

Basic specs.

The LM 32 is a motorsailer designed by the Danish maritime architect Bent Juul Andersen in the late seventies. A few hundred boats have been produced. The LM 32 is built by the Danish yard LM Glasfiber A/S.

Looking for a new boat? Find a LM 32 or similar boat for sale

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. 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 deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

Interior

Floor plan of LM 32.

Interior of LM 32.

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, 6 berths, a galley, 250.0 liter fresh water capacity, toilet facility and 75.0 liter waste water capacity.

Note: the boat has also been sold to be self-made/-interiored, which means that the quality of each boat may vary.

Front cabin of LM 32 anno 1980. Front cabin from the perspective of the lower berth.

Galley of LM 32 anno 1980.

Cockpit

Cockpit of LM 32 anno 1980.

Deck saloon of LM 32.

Rig

The LM 32 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.

Keel

Keel of LM 32 anno 1980.

The LM 32 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

One option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full 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.

LM 32 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.50 - 1.60 meter (4.92 - 5.22 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel

Another option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.20 - 1.30 meter (3.94 - 4.24 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The LM 32 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD2030 diesel engine at 28 hp (20 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.6 knots

Alternative 2:

LM 32 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD17C diesel engine at 35 hp (26 kW). The speed is 8.5 knots.

The transmission is a saildrive.

Alternative 3:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Bukh DV36SME diesel engine

The fuel tank has a capacity of 250.0 liters (66 US gallons, 54 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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for LM 32 is 1.77, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.1 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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for LM 32 is about 184 kg/cm, alternatively 1033 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 184 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1033 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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for LM 32 is 31.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 86% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for LM 32 is 3.01.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 66% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for LM 32 is 285 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

34% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for LM 32 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 11.7, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 14.0.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 4% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.
Don't panic! It is expected that motor sailers has a low SA/D value as this is the natural consequence of the design combining sailing and motor boat characteristics.

Over- / underrigged

The LM 32 has more rig than 31% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.
It is expected that motor sailers are underrigged as this is the natural consequence of combining sailing and motor characteristics.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for LM 32 is 18

The relative speed performance is 18 which means that a it is faster than 18% of all similar sailboat designs. As this boat is a motor sailer, it is expected that the performance of a motor sailer for sail alone is lower than a dedicated sailboat.

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 30m² (322 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

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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	28.3 m	(92.8 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	28.3 m	(92.8 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	28.3 m	(92.8 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet	9.8 m	(32.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet	9.8 m	(32.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet	24.4 m	(80.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	21.5 m	(70.4 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Cunningham	3.2 m	(10.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap	6.4 m	(21.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul	6.4 m	(21.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 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 LM 32 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.