Review of Monark 690

Deck plan of Monark 690.

Both the hull and the deck 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.

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 berths, 70.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The Monark 690 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.

Full keel

The Monark 690 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 enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.80 - 0.90 meter (2.62 - 2.92 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Monark 690 may be equipped with an inboard Bukh diesel engine at 20 hp (14 kW). Cruise speed is 6.0 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 stainless steel, has a capacity of 85.0 liters (22 US gallons, 18 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Monark 690 is 2.29, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.1 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.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Monark 690 is about 111 kg/cm, alternatively 624 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 111 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 624 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Monark 690 is 13.6.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Monark 690 is 2.65.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Monark 690 is 159 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 16m² (172 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.

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.

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.

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If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.