Review of Finnsailer 38

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. 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 3 cabins, 10 berths, a galley and 435.0 liter fresh water capacity.

The Finnsailer 38 is 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.

Fin keel

The Finnsailer 38 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 enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.58 - 1.68 meter (5.18 - 5.48 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Finnsailer 38 may be equipped with an inboard Perkins diesel engine at 72 hp (53 kW). The speed is 10.0 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 400.0 liters (105 US gallons, 87 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Finnsailer 38 is 1.71, 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 7.6 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 Finnsailer 38 is about 234 kg/cm, alternatively 1311 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 234 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1311 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Finnsailer 38 is 34.6.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Finnsailer 38 is 3.14.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Finnsailer 38 is 39%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Finnsailer 38 is 258 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

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): 14.57

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Finnsailer 38 is 1

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 38m² (409 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 Finnsailer 38 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.