Review of Flipper Futura

The hull 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 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 cabins, 9 berths, a galley, 130.0 liter fresh water capacity, toilet facility and 30.0 liter waste water capacity.

The Flipper Futura 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.

Unknown keel type

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated.

The boat 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.

Flipper Futura may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD11 diesel engine at 23 hp (17 kW). The speed is 6.0 knots.

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 110.0 liters (29 US gallons, 24 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Flipper Futura is 1.97, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.6 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.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Flipper Futura is about 155 kg/cm, alternatively 872 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 155 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 872 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Flipper Futura is 21.2 - 23.2.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Flipper Futura is 3.05.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Flipper Futura is 38%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Flipper Futura is 252 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Flipper Futura is 46

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 26m² (279 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.

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.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Flipper Futura 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.