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Review of IF-boat




Basic specs.

sail specifications
The IF-boat also known as International Folkboat or International Folkboat is a sailboat designed by the Swedish maritime architect Tord Arne Sundén in the late sixties. Several thousand boats have been produced. The IF-boat is built by the Swedish yard Marieholms Bruk 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. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.


Interior

The boat is equipped with 4 berths, a galley and toilet facility.


Rig

The IF-boat 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.


Keel

Full keel

The IF-boat 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 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 even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.21 - 1.31 meter (3.97 - 4.27 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 IF-boat is 1.71, 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 6.0 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 IF-boat is about 88 kg/cm, alternatively 496 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 88 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 496 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 IF-boat is 24.3.

Low High 82% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 82% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for IF-boat is 3.59.

Wide Slim 98% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 98% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for IF-boat is 58%.

Low High 98% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 98% 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 IF-boat is 271 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 34% 0 50 100
34% 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.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for IF-boat with ISO 8666 reference sail is 14.7, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.6.

Low High 31% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 31% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 34% 0 50 100
The IF-boat has more rig than 34% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for IF-boat is 46

Slow Fast 46% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 46 which means that a it is faster than 46% of all similar sailboat designs.


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 15m2 (161 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

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



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
Mainsail halyard 23.2 m(76.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard23.2 m(76.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard23.2 m(76.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 7.9 m(25.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet7.9 m(25.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 19.7 m(64.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet17.3 m(56.8 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham3.4 m(11.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap6.8 m(22.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul6.8 m(22.3 feet)8 mm(5/16 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 IF-boat 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