Review of Wyliecat 17

Basic specs.

The Wyliecat 17 is a small sailboat designed by the maritime architect Thomas Wylie in the late nineties. The Wyliecat 17 is built by the American yard Wyliecat.

Here we would have liked to show you nice photos of the Wyliecat 17.
If you have a photo you would like to share: Upload Image

Looking for a new boat? Find a Wyliecat 17 or similar boat for sale

Hull

The hull 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.

Rig

The Wyliecat 17 is equipped with a cat rig. A cat rig (also called an una rig) is simple to manage as there is no standing rigging, often referred to as “unstayed”. With only one sail it can be single-handed quite easily. The downside is its upwind performance.

Keel

DaggerBoard aka Sword

The Wyliecat 17 is equipped with a daggerboard keel. A daggerboard is a lifting keel that can be lowered and raised, allowing the boat to enter shallow waters as well.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.07 - 1.17 meter (3.51 - 3.81 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 Wyliecat 17 is 2.75, indicating that this boat would not 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 5.3 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 Wyliecat 17 is about 59 kg/cm, alternatively 334 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 59 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 334 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 Wyliecat 17 is 5.9.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 14% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Wyliecat 17 is 2.88.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 82% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Wyliecat 17 is 58%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 99% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Wyliecat 17 is 77 which categorizes this boat among 'ultra light racers'.

90% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

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): 40.36

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 11m² (118 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.

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**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	19.1 m	(62.6 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	19.1 m	(62.6 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	19.1 m	(62.6 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Jib sheet	5.3 m	(17.5 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Genoa sheet	5.3 m	(17.5 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Mainsheet	13.3 m	(43.7 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	11.7 m	(38.5 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Cunningham	3.9 m	(12.7 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Kickingstrap	7.7 m	(25.3 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Clew-outhaul	7.7 m	(25.3 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 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 Wyliecat 17 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.