Review of Baltic 40

Basic specs.

The Baltic 40 is a sailboat designed by the German maritime architect bureau judel / vrolijk & co - engineering GmbH in the late eighties. Only a few boats have been built. The Baltic 40 is built by the Finnish yard Baltic Yachts Ltd..

Here we would have liked to show you nice photos of the Baltic 40.
If you have a photo you would like to share: Upload Image

Looking for a new boat? Find a Baltic 40 or similar boat for sale

Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of hand laid fibreglass. A hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Both the hull and the deck is a sandwich construction which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 4-6 berths, a galley, 190 liters (50 US gallons, 41 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

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.

Rig

The Baltic 40 is built with a masthead rig. The sail area for the mailsail + jib is 70.0 m² (753.5 ft²). 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.

Engine

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 125 liters (33 US gallons, 27 imperial gallons).

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar 3HM35F diesel engine at 34 hp (25 kW). The speed is 7.5 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

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 Baltic 40 is 1.98, 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 7.7 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 Baltic 40 is about 264 kg/cm, alternatively 1479 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 264 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1479 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 Baltic 40 is 21.8 - 26.2.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 34% 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 Baltic 40 is 3.04.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 76% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Baltic 40 is 210 which categorizes this boat among 'moderate racers'.

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 Baltic 40 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.6, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.9.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 54% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Maintenance

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	37.7 m	(123.8 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	37.7 m	(123.8 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	37.7 m	(123.8 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet	12.0 m	(39.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	12.0 m	(39.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	30.0 m	(98.4 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	26.4 m	(86.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Cunningham	4.5 m	(14.6 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap	8.9 m	(29.2 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul	8.9 m	(29.2 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 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 Baltic 40 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.