Review of Sun Fast 17

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 Sun Fast 17 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 Sun Fast 17 has been built with different keel alternatives.

CentreBoard

The Sun Fast 17 is equipped with a centreboard keel. A centreboard 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 sail close to the beach as the draft is just 0.24 - 0.34 meter (0.79 - 1.09 ft) dependent of the load. See immersion rate below.

Unknown keel type

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.03 - 1.13 meter (3.38 - 3.68 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 5.2 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 Sun Fast 17 is about 70 kg/cm, alternatively 396 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 70 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 396 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sun Fast 17 is 2.20.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 95% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Sun Fast 17 is 16%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 4% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.

The Sun Fast 17 has more rig than 93% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

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.

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.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Sun Fast 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.

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.