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Review of Nord 80


Nord 80
Nord 80.


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Nord 80 is a sailboat designed by the Swedish maritime architect Olle Enderlein in the mid seventies. The Nord 80 is built by the Swedish yard Nordverk Marin.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Nord 80 or similar boat for sale

Hull
Deck plan
Deck plan of Nord 80.


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 4 berths, a galley 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.


Rig

Nord 80 has more than one rig.

One 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.


Keel
Keel
Keel of Nord 80 anno 1978.

The Nord 80 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

One option is 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 enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.35 - 1.45 meter (4.43 - 4.73 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel

Another option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.35 - 1.45 meter (4.43 - 4.73 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The Nord 80 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

Nord 80 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD7B diesel engine at 17 hp (12 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.6 knots

The transmission is a saildrive.

Alternative 2:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD7A diesel engine at 13 hp (9 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.9 knots

The transmission is a saildrive.

Alternative 3:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD6A diesel engine at 10 hp (7 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.3 knots

The transmission is a saildrive.


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 Nord 80 is 1.96, 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 6.3 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 Nord 80 is about 125 kg/cm, alternatively 703 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 125 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 703 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 Nord 80 is 22.8.

Low High 69% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 69% 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 Nord 80 is 2.85.

Slim Wide 73% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 73% 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 Nord 80 is 42%.

Low High 62% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 62% 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 Nord 80 is 277 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

Heavy Light 31% 0 50 100
31% 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)

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

The SA/D for Nord 80 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 12.9, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 15.5.

Low High 15% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 15% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 50% 0 50 100
The Nord 80 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 Nord 80 is 46

Slow Fast 46% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 46 which means that a it is faster than 46% 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 21m2 (226 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 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
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 22.6 m(74.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard22.6 m(74.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard22.6 m(74.0 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 8.0 m(26.2 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet8.0 m(26.2 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 20.0 m(65.5 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet17.6 m(57.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham2.6 m(8.5 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap5.2 m(17.1 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul5.2 m(17.1 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 25.1 m(82.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard25.1 m(82.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard25.1 m(82.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 8.0 m(26.2 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet8.0 m(26.2 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 20.0 m(65.5 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet17.6 m(57.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham2.6 m(8.5 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap5.2 m(17.1 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul5.2 m(17.1 feet)8 mm(5/16 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 Nord 80 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