Review of Hughes 38 Mk I

Basic specs.

The Hughes 38 Mk I is a sailboat designed by the American maritime architect bureau Sparkman & Stephens in the late sixties. The Hughes 38 Mk I is built by the Canadian yard Hughes Boat Works Ltd..

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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.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with a Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine at 30.0 hp (22 kW).

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.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.0 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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Hughes 38 Mk I is about 171 kg/cm, alternatively 960 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 171 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 960 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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Hughes 38 Mk I is 3.72.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 90% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.

Maintenance

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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	31.2 m	(102.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	31.2 m	(102.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	31.2 m	(102.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet	11.6 m	(38.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	11.6 m	(38.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	28.9 m	(95.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	25.5 m	(83.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Cunningham	4.2 m	(13.7 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap	8.4 m	(27.4 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul	8.4 m	(27.4 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 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.

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Finally

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References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.