Review of Baltic 39
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.
The hull is a sandwich construction which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The boat is equipped with a galley.
The Baltic 39 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.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.11 - 2.21 meter (6.92 - 7.22 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
CentreBoard
Another option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
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.
Baltic 39 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.49 - 1.59 meter (4.89 - 5.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD11/C diesel engine at 23 hp (17 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.8 knots
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 Baltic 39 is 1.94, 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 7.7 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 Baltic 39 is about 259 kg/cm, alternatively 1451 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 259 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1451 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 Baltic 39 is 27.1.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Baltic 39 is 3.07.
The ballast ratio for Baltic 39 is 42%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Baltic 39 is 230 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Baltic 39 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.9, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.4.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 45m2 (484 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.
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 | 35.7 m | (117.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 35.7 m | (117.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 35.7 m | (117.3 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 11.9 m | (39.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 11.9 m | (39.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 29.8 m | (97.7 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 26.2 m | (86.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Cunningham | 3.9 m | (12.9 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 7.9 m | (25.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 7.9 m | (25.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
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