Review of Bristol 45.5
Basic specs.
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The Bristol 45.5 is equipped with a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.
The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.49 - 1.59 meter (4.89 - 5.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.236 diesel engine.
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 8.2 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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Bristol 45.5 is about 305 kg/cm, alternatively 1710 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 305 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1710 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.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Bristol 45.5 is 3.43.
The ballast ratio for Bristol 45.5 is 43%.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 63m2 (678 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
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 | 39.4 m | (129.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 39.4 m | (129.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 39.4 m | (129.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 13.8 m | (45.2 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 13.8 m | (45.2 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 34.4 m | (113.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 30.3 m | (99.5 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Cunningham | 5.5 m | (18.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 11.0 m | (36.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 11.0 m | (36.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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