Review of Mikado 56

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

The boat is equipped with 4 cabins, 10 berths, 1060.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The boat equipped with a ketch rig. A ketch rig is generally considered easier to handle, because the sails are smaller, and because it can sail on most points to the wind with one sail completely taken down for repair or while reefing. The sail configuration of a ketch allows for better comfort and stability when sailing downwind or on a broad reach.

Keel of Mikado 56 anno 1990.

Fin keel

The Mikado 56 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.00 - 2.10 meter (6.56 - 6.86 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Mikado 56 is typically equipped with an inboard Renault Gouach diesel engine at 106 hp (78 kW). Cruise speed is 6.0 knots. Max speed is 9.0 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, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 500.0 liters (132 US gallons, 109 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Mikado 56 is 1.68, 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 9.1 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 Mikado 56 is about 452 kg/cm, alternatively 2535 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 452 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2535 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Mikado 56 is 346.25.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 13.96

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 72m² (775 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 Mikado 56 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.