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Review of Bristol 45.5


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Bristol 45.5 is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect Ted Hood in the early eighties.

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

Keel

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.


Engine

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.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

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.


Immersion rate

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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Bristol 45.5 is 3.43.

Wide Slim 54% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Bristol 45.5 is 43%.

Low High 82% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 82% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 4% 0 50 100
The Bristol 45.5 has more rig than 4% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly underrigged.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

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.


Rig

Dimensions of sail.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

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
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 39.4 m(129.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard39.4 m(129.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard39.4 m(129.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet 13.8 m(45.2 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet13.8 m(45.2 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 34.4 m(113.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet30.3 m(99.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Cunningham5.5 m(18.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap11.0 m(36.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul11.0 m(36.0 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.

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 Bristol 45.5 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