Review of Altura 42

Basic specs.

The Altura 42 is a large motorsailer designed by the maritime architect Alberto Mercati in the late seventies.

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Keel

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.70 - 1.80 meter (5.58 - 5.88 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Fiat diesel engine at 135.0 hp (100 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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Altura 42 is 1.65, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Altura 42 is about 318 kg/cm, alternatively 1782 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 318 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1782 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 Altura 42 is 3.29.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Maintenance

Rig

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
Jib sheet	12.5 m	(41.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	12.5 m	(41.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	31.2 m	(102.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	27.5 m	(90.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

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Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Altura 42 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.