Review of Fastnet 34
Fastnet 34.
Basic specs.
The Fastnet 34 is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect bureau
Groupe Finot in the early seventies.
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Interior
Interior of Fastnet 34.
The boat is equipped with 6 berths.
Galley of Fastnet 34.
Cockpit
Cockpit of Fastnet 34.
Rig
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.
Keel
Keel of Fastnet 34.
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.
The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.75 - 1.85 meter (5.74 - 6.04 ft) dependent on the load. See
immersion rate below.
Engine
Fastnet 34 is typically equipped with various Volvo Penta diesel engines at 25.0 hp (18 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.6 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
Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.6 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 Fastnet 34 is about 173 kg/cm, alternatively 970 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 173 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 970 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 Fastnet 34 is 24.5.
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 46% of all similar sailboat designs.
This comfort value is just below average.
L/B (Length Beam Ratio)
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Fastnet 34 is 2.97.
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 73% of all other designs.
It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.
Ballast Ratio
What is a Ballast Ratio?
The ballast ratio for Fastnet 34 is 34%.
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 18% of all similar sailboat designs.
A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.
D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Fastnet 34 is 330 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.
15% 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 Fastnet 34 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.6, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.8.
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 34% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.
Over- / underrigged
The Fastnet 34 has more rig than 73% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly overrigged.
RSP (Relative Speed Performance)
What is Relative Speed Performance?
The Relative Speed Performance for Fastnet 34 is 46
The relative speed performance is 46 which means that a it is faster than 46% of all similar sailboat designs.
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 29m2 (312 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
Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.
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.
We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Fastnet 34 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