Review of Balboa 26

Basic specs.

The Balboa 26 is a sailboat. The Balboa 26 is built by the American yard Coastal Recreation Inc..

Here we would have liked to show you nice photos of the Balboa 26.
If you have a photo you would like to share: Upload Image

Looking for a new boat? Find a Balboa 26 or similar boat for sale

Keel

The Balboa 26 has been built with more than one type of keel.

One option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.55 - 0.65 meter (1.80 - 2.10 ft) dependent on the load.

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 6.1 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.

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.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Balboa 26 is 33%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 21% 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 Balboa 26 is 178 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

76% 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 Balboa 26 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 20.1, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 24.0.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 90% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Balboa 26 has more rig than 100% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail.

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	20.2 m	(66.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	20.2 m	(66.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	20.2 m	(66.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet	7.9 m	(26.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	7.9 m	(26.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	19.8 m	(65.0 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	17.4 m	(57.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Cunningham	3.3 m	(10.8 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap	6.6 m	(21.6 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul	6.6 m	(21.6 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

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

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

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Balboa 26 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.