Review of Meridian 31

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 boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 4 berths and 272.0 liter fresh water capacity.

The Meridian 31 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.

Full keel

The Meridian 31 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.52 - 1.62 meter (4.99 - 5.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The Meridian 31 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

Meridian 31 may be equipped with an inboard Vetus M4.17 diesel engine at 42 hp (31 kW).

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.

Alternative 2:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Mercedes-Benz OM 636 diesel engine at 42 hp (31 kW). Cruise speed is 6.0 knots. Max speed is 8.0 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.

Alternative 3:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Leyland British diesel engine at 37 hp (27 kW). Max speed is 7.0 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.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 272.0 liters (71 US gallons, 59 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Meridian 31 is 1.73, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 Meridian 31 is about 197 kg/cm, alternatively 1106 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 197 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1106 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Meridian 31 is 2.93.

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 Meridian 31 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.