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Review of Cape Dory 45


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Cape Dory 45 is a large sailboat designed by the Swedish maritime architect Carl Alberg in the early eighties. Only a few boats have been produced. The Cape Dory 45 is built by the American yard Cape Dory Yachts.

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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.


Interior

The boat is equipped with 757.0 liter fresh water capacity.


Keel

Full keel

The Cape Dory 45 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 boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.91 - 2.01 meter (6.27 - 6.57 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 Cape Dory 45 is 1.80, 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 7.8 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 Cape Dory 45 is about 270 kg/cm, alternatively 1516 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 270 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1516 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 Cape Dory 45 is 32.7.

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


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Cape Dory 45 is 3.48.

Wide Slim 58% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Cape Dory 45 is 39%.

Low High 66% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 66% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Cape Dory 45 is 285 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

Heavy Light 27% 0 50 100
27% 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 45m2 (484 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
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 13.8 m(45.2 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet 13.8 m(45.2 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 34.5 m(113.1 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet30.3 m(99.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 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 Cape Dory 45 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