Review of Bristol 39
Basic specs.
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The Bristol 39 has been built with more than one type of keel.
One option is a long keel. A long keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.
Another option is a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.65 - 1.75 meter (5.41 - 5.71 ft) dependent on the load.
The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.107 diesel engine at 37.0 hp (27 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.7 knots.
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.
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.
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.
The ballast ratio for Bristol 39 is 37%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Bristol 39 is 377 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Bristol 39 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.6.
Maintenance
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 32.5 m | (106.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 32.5 m | (106.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 32.5 m | (106.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 11.9 m | (39.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 11.9 m | (39.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 29.7 m | (97.5 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 26.2 m | (85.8 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Cunningham | 4.9 m | (16.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 9.8 m | (32.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 9.8 m | (32.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
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