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Review of Marsvin


Marsvin
Marsvin anno 1979. Prachtige boot


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Marsvin is a small sailboat designed by the Danish maritime architect Peter Bruun in the late seventies. The Marsvin is built by the Danish yard Peter Bruun ApS.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Marsvin or similar boat for sale

Hull

The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass while the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid 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

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 4 berths and a galley.

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


Rig

The Marsvin is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.


Keel

The Marsvin has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

The Marsvin is equipped with 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.

Marsvin can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.40 - 1.50 meter (4.59 - 4.89 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

DaggerBoard aka Sword

The Marsvin is equipped with a daggerboard keel. A daggerboard is a lifting keel that can be lowered and raised, allowing the boat to enter shallow waters as well.


Engine

An outboard motor is often used on this boat. In that case the boat will typically require a power of 3 - 4 hp, alternatively 64 - 77 lbs thrust if you prefer an electrical motor. Electric outboards are becoming popular for sailboat owners who want clean instant power with less noise and no exhaust fumes.


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 Marsvin is 2.25, indicating that this boat would not 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 6.0 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 Marsvin is about 104 kg/cm, alternatively 584 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 104 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 584 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 Marsvin is 12.1 - 14.1.

Low High 46% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 46% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Marsvin is 2.67.

Slim Wide 73% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 73% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Marsvin is 58%.

Low High 98% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 98% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Marsvin is 160 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

Heavy Light 69% 0 50 100
69% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Marsvin with ISO 8666 reference sail is 19.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 22.0.

Low High 58% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 58% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 34% 0 50 100
The Marsvin has more rig than 34% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Marsvin is 85

Slow Fast 85% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 85 which means that a it is faster than 85% of all similar sailboat designs.


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 18m2 (193 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 fractional rig.

mainsail specifications genoa specifications spinnaker specifications

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
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 23.8 m(78.1 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard23.8 m(78.1 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard23.8 m(78.1 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 6.8 m(22.1 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet6.8 m(22.1 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 16.9 m(55.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet14.9 m(48.7 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham2.9 m(9.4 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap5.7 m(18.7 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul5.7 m(18.7 feet)8 mm(5/16 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 Marsvin 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