Review of LM Mermaid 315

The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass while the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid 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 deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 6 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

The boat 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.

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Bukh DV20 diesel engine at 20.0 hp (14 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.2 knots.

The transmission is a saildrive.

The fuel tank which is made of fibreglass has a capacity of 70 liters (18 US gallons, 15 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for LM Mermaid 315 is 1.85, 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 6.9 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 LM Mermaid 315 is about 165 kg/cm, alternatively 927 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 165 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 927 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for LM Mermaid 315 is 26.4 - 26.9.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 69% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for LM Mermaid 315 is 3.02.

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.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for LM Mermaid 315 is 258 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

50% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. This boat has a precise average ratio between displacement and length!

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for LM Mermaid 315 is 21

The relative speed performance is 21 which means that a it is faster than 21% of all similar sailboat designs. As this boat is a motor sailer, it is expected that the performance of a motor sailer for sail alone is lower than a dedicated sailboat.

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 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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Mermaid 315 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.