Review of Contest 40 A-B

Basic specs.

The Contest 40 A-B is a large sailboat designed by the Dutch maritime architect Uus van Essen in the early seventies. The Contest 40 A-B is built by the Dutch yard Conyplex N.V..

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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.

Rig

The boat has more than one rig.

One option is 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.

Another option is 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.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD21A diesel engine at 63 hp (46 kW). Calculated max speed is about 7.6 knots

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 Contest 40 A-B is 1.75, 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 7.1 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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Contest 40 A-B is about 194 kg/cm, alternatively 1086 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 194 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1086 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 Contest 40 A-B is 32.8.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 66% 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 Contest 40 A-B is 3.54.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 73% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Contest 40 A-B is 349 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

14% 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)

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): 17.60

Maintenance

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**
Masthead rig
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	12.1 m	(39.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	12.1 m	(39.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	30.2 m	(99.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	26.6 m	(87.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Ketch rig
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	12.1 m	(39.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	12.1 m	(39.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	30.2 m	(99.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	26.6 m	(87.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 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 Contest 40 A-B 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

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.