Review of Forgus 38 DS

Basic specs.

The Forgus 38 DS is a sailboat designed by the maritime architect Hugo Samuelson.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior

The boat is equipped with a galley.

Rig

The Forgus 38 DS is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

Keel

The Forgus 38 DS has been built with different keel alternatives.

Unknown keel type

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 1.58 - 1.68 meter (5.18 - 5.48 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Unknown keel type

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.

Forgus 38 DS can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.95 - 2.05 meter (6.40 - 6.70 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar 3JH2TB diesel engine at 47 hp (35 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.8 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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Forgus 38 DS is 1.76, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Forgus 38 DS is about 226 kg/cm, alternatively 1267 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 226 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1267 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 Forgus 38 DS is 31.2.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 66% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Forgus 38 DS is 3.31.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Forgus 38 DS is 40%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 54% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Forgus 38 DS is 248 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

54% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

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 37m² (398 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

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
Jib sheet	11.6 m	(38.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	11.6 m	(38.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	29.0 m	(95.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	25.5 m	(83.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 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 Forgus 38 DS 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.