Review of Austral 24

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

The Austral 24 is built 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.

Swing keel

The Austral 24 is built with a swing keel. A swing keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

The boat can sail close to the beach as the draft is just 0.38 - 0.48 meter (1.25 - 1.55 ft) dependent of the load. See immersion rate below.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Austral 24 is 1.80, 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 6.0 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 Austral 24 is about 96 kg/cm, alternatively 540 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 96 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 540 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Austral 24 is 23.6.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 86% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Austral 24 is 3.19.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 79% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Austral 24 is 19%.

This ballast ratio is higher than 1% of all similar sailboat designs. Since the ballast ratio and the righting moment (i.e. better ability to resist heeling) is strongly correlated, a ballast ratio significantly below average indicates a very low ability to resist heeling.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Austral 24 is 270 which categorizes this boat among 'moderate racers'.

27% 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.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 18m² (193 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.

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.

Keels with moving parts need to be inspected and maintained on a regular basis according to advice given in owner's manual. Manufacturers usually advise which maintenance work can be done by the owner and which work should be carried out by a suitably experienced boatyard.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Austral 24 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.