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Review of Baltic 38 DP


Baltic 38 DP
Baltic 38 DP.

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Baltic 38 DP is a sailboat designed by the American maritime architect Douglas Blair Peterson in the early eighties. Less than 100 boats have been produced. The Baltic 38 DP is built by the Finnish yard Baltic Yachts Ltd..

Looking for a new boat? Find a Baltic 38 DP or similar boat for sale

Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.


Interior

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 6 berths, a galley, 190.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.


Rig

The Baltic 38 DP 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.


Keel

Fin keel

The Baltic 38 DP 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 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 2.21 - 2.31 meter (7.25 - 7.55 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Baltic 38 DP may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar 3HMF diesel engine at 30 hp (22 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.0 knots

The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 114.0 liters (30 US gallons, 25 imperial gallons).


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 Baltic 38 DP is 2.03, indicating that this boat would not 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 7.5 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 Baltic 38 DP is about 241 kg/cm, alternatively 1354 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 241 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1354 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 Baltic 38 DP is 23.1.

Low High 24% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 24% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Baltic 38 DP is 3.09.

Slim Wide 69% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 69% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Baltic 38 DP is 45%.

Low High 79% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 79% 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 Baltic 38 DP is 204 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 73% 0 50 100
73% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Baltic 38 DP with ISO 8666 reference sail is 20.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 24.2.

Low High 82% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 82% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 50% 0 50 100
The Baltic 38 DP has more rig than 50% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that this rig is spot on average!


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Baltic 38 DP is 73

Slow Fast 73% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 73 which means that a it is faster than 73% 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 43m2 (462 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 masthead rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications genoa specifications spinnaker 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 38.5 m(126.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard38.5 m(126.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard38.5 m(126.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet 11.6 m(38.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet11.6 m(38.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 29.0 m(95.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet25.5 m(83.7 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Cunningham4.2 m(13.7 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap8.4 m(27.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul8.4 m(27.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 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 Baltic 38 DP 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