The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of 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 Sun Fast 31 is equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.
The Sun Fast 31 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Deep keel
One option is a deep keel. A deep keel provide a better healing moment than a shallow keel.
The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.
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.
Shallow keel
Another option is a shallow keel. A shallow keel allow to sail both coastal and inland waters.
The keel is also made of lead.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.45 - 1.55 meter (4.76 - 5.06 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Unknown keel type
The keel is also made of lead.
Sun Fast 31 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.51 - 1.61 meter (4.95 - 5.25 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
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.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.7 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 Sun Fast 31 is about 163 kg/cm, alternatively 915 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 163 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 915 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
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 Fast 31 is 2.90.
The ballast ratio for Sun Fast 31 is 34%.
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 28m2 (301 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.
Dimensions of sail for fractional 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.
Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
Mainsail halyard | 29.3 m | (96.1 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
Jib/genoa halyard | 29.3 m | (96.1 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
Spinnaker halyard | 29.3 m | (96.1 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
Jib sheet | 9.2 m | (30.2 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
Genoa sheet | 9.2 m | (30.2 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
Mainsheet | 23.0 m | (75.5 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
Spinnaker sheet | 20.2 m | (66.4 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
Cunningham | 3.7 m | (12.1 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
Kickingstrap | 7.4 m | (24.3 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 inch) |
Clew-outhaul | 7.4 m | (24.3 feet) | 10 mm | (3/8 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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