Review of Etap 20
Basic specs.
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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.
The boat is equipped with 4 berths.
Swing keel
The Etap 20 is equipped with a swing keel. A swing keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
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.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.45 - 0.55 meter (1.48 - 1.78 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
An outboard motor is often used on this boat. In that case Etap 20 will typically require a power of 1 - 2 hp, alternatively 30 - 36 lbs thrust if you prefer an electrical motor. Electric outboards are becoming popular for sailboat owners who want clean instant power with less noise and no exhaust fumes.
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.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Etap 20 is 2.64, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Etap 20 is about 93 kg/cm, alternatively 522 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 93 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 522 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.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Etap 20 is 2.63.
The ballast ratio for Etap 20 is 29%.
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): 22.48
Maintenance
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Jib sheet | 6.0 m | (19.8 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 6.0 m | (19.8 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 15.1 m | (49.6 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 13.3 m | (43.7 feet) | 8 mm | (5/16 inch) |
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