Review of Mamba 34

Mamba 34 anno 1978.

Basic specs.

The Mamba 34 is a sailboat designed by the Swedish maritime architect Rolf Magnusson in the late seventies. A few hundred boats have been produced. The Mamba 34 is built by the Swedish yard BK Marin AB.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Mamba 34 or similar boat for sale

Hull

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

Interior

The interior is like nearly all boats made of wood.
The boat is equipped with 7 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

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 diesel engine at 23.0 hp (17 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.7 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 60 liters (15 US gallons, 13 imperial gallons).

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

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Mamba 34 is 2.04, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.1 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 Mamba 34 is about 194 kg/cm, alternatively 1089 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 194 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1089 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 Mamba 34 is 22.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 34% 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 Mamba 34 is 2.96.

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.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Mamba 34 is 224 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

62% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Mamba 34 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.7.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 46% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Mamba 34 is 58

The relative speed performance is 58 which means that a it is faster than 58% of all similar sailboat designs.

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	30.9 m	(101.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	30.9 m	(101.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	30.9 m	(101.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet	10.2 m	(33.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet	10.2 m	(33.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet	25.4 m	(83.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	22.4 m	(73.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Cunningham	3.3 m	(10.8 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap	6.6 m	(21.7 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul	6.6 m	(21.7 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 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.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

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

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