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Review of Palmer Johnson 48


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Palmer Johnson 48 aka Swan 48 (S&S) is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect bureau Sparkman & Stephens in the early seventies. The Palmer Johnson 48 is built by the Finnish yard Oy Nautor AB.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.


Keel

Fin keel

The Palmer Johnson 48 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.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.38 - 2.48 meter (7.81 - 8.11 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


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 Palmer Johnson 48 is 1.68, 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 8.4 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 Palmer Johnson 48 is about 329 kg/cm, alternatively 1846 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 329 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1846 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 Palmer Johnson 48 is 38.7.

Low High 69% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 69% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Palmer Johnson 48 is 3.54.

Wide Slim 62% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 62% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Palmer Johnson 48 is 41%.

Low High 76% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 76% 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 Palmer Johnson 48 is 255 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 42% 0 50 100
42% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


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 58m2 (624 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

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
Jib sheet 14.7 m(48.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet 14.7 m(48.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 36.6 m(120.2 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet32.2 m(105.7 feet)16 mm(5/8 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 Palmer Johnson 48 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