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Review of Sunward 48


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Sunward 48 is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect bureau Sparkman & Stephens in the mid eighties. The Sunward 48 is built by the American yard Sunward Yacht Corporation.

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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 2 cabins, a galley, toilet facility and 120 liter waste water capacity.

Rig
Rig
Rig of Sunward 48 anno 1983. Boat at anchor
The boat equipped with a ketch rig.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Yanmar 4JH4-THE diesel engine at 115.0 hp (85 kW), which gives a max speed about 6.6 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank which is made of fibreglass has a capacity of 1200 liters (317 US gallons, 263 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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Sunward 48 is 1.49, 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 8.3 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 Sunward 48 is about 341 kg/cm, alternatively 1909 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 341 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1909 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 Sunward 48 is 60.4.

Low High 100% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 100% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sunward 48 is 3.37.

Slim Wide 62% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 62% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Sunward 48 is 438 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

Heavy Light 1% 0 50 100
1% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Sunward 48 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 9.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 11.1.

Low High 1% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 1% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail for ketch rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

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.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 39.4 m(129.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard39.4 m(129.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard39.4 m(129.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet 14.6 m(48.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet14.6 m(48.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 36.6 m(120.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet32.2 m(105.6 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Cunningham4.6 m(15.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap9.1 m(30.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul9.1 m(30.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's changes, 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 Sunward 48 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