Review of Motiva 40 S

Basic specs.

The Motiva 40 S is a large motorsailer designed by the Danish maritime architect Arne Borghegn in the early eighties. The Motiva 40 S is built by the Danish yard Motiva Yacht.

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Hull

The deck is made of steel.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 6 berths, a galley, 300.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

Note: the boat has also been sold to be self-made/-interiored, which means that the quality of each boat may vary.

Keel

Full keel

The Motiva 40 S 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 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.

Motiva 40 S can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.95 - 2.05 meter (6.40 - 6.70 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta engine at 62 hp (46 kW). The speed is 8.5 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 steel, has a capacity of 400.0 liters (105 US gallons, 87 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 Motiva 40 S is 1.68, 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 7.4 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 Motiva 40 S is about 240 kg/cm, alternatively 1347 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 240 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1347 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 Motiva 40 S is 41.6.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 95% 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 Motiva 40 S is 3.21.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 62% 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 Motiva 40 S is 38%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 42% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Motiva 40 S is 402 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

4% 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.

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 41m² (441 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

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**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	12.2 m	(40.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	12.2 m	(40.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	30.6 m	(100.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	27.0 m	(88.4 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 Motiva 40 S 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.