Review of Luffe 37
Basic specs.
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The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass while the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 5-6 berths, a galley, 100.0 liter fresh water capacity 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.
The Luffe 37 is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.
The Luffe 37 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Fin keel
One 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.
Luffe 37 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.70 - 1.80 meter (5.58 - 5.88 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Fin keel
Another 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 most marinas as the draft is just about 1.70 - 1.80 meter (5.58 - 5.88 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The Luffe 37 has been equipped with different engine alternatives.
Alternative 1:
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta gasoline engine at 18 hp (13 kW). The speed is 7.0 knots.
The transmission is a saildrive.
Alternative 2:
Luffe 37 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta diesel engine at 19 hp (14 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.2 knots
The transmission is a saildrive.
The fuel tank, which is made of stainless steel, has a capacity of 30.0 liters (7 US gallons, 6 imperial gallons).
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 Luffe 37 is 1.77, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 7.5 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 Luffe 37 is about 175 kg/cm, alternatively 980 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 175 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 980 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 Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Luffe 37 is 21.2.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Luffe 37 is 4.06.
The ballast ratio for Luffe 37 is 44%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Luffe 37 is 125 which categorizes this boat among 'ultra light racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Luffe 37 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 18.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.1.
What is Relative Speed Performance?
The Relative Speed Performance for Luffe 37 is 82
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 32m2 (344 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.
Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 32.8 m | (107.6 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 32.8 m | (107.6 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 32.8 m | (107.6 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 11.2 m | (36.6 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 11.2 m | (36.6 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 27.9 m | (91.5 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 24.6 m | (80.6 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Cunningham | 3.6 m | (11.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 7.2 m | (23.6 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 7.2 m | (23.6 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
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