Review of LaCoste 42
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 boat is equipped with 8-9 berths.
The LaCoste 42 has been built with different keel alternatives.
CentreBoard
One option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
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 most marinas as the draft is just about 1.53 - 1.63 meter (5.02 - 5.32 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 keel is also made of lead.
LaCoste 42 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.29 - 2.39 meter (7.51 - 7.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins diesel engine at 50 hp (37 kW).
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 LaCoste 42 is 2.02, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for LaCoste 42 is about 328 kg/cm, alternatively 1841 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 328 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1841 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 L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for LaCoste 42 is 3.18.
The ballast ratio for LaCoste 42 is 49%.
SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 32.90
Maintenance
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 | ||
| Jib sheet | 12.5 m | (41.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 12.5 m | (41.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 31.2 m | (102.4 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 27.5 m | (90.2 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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