Review of Sun Odyssey 42.1
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 Sun Odyssey 42.1 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Shallow keel
One option is a shallow keel. A shallow keel allow 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. 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 enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.50 - 1.60 meter (4.92 - 5.22 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.
This keel is also made of iron.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.90 - 2.00 meter (6.23 - 6.53 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Sun Odyssey 42.1 is about 327 kg/cm, alternatively 1833 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 327 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1833 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 Sun Odyssey 42.1 is 3.09.
The ballast ratio for Sun Odyssey 42.1 is 33%.
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 | 12.3 m | (40.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 12.3 m | (40.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 30.7 m | (100.7 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 27.0 m | (88.6 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.
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