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Review of Hallberg-Rassy 53


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Hallberg-Rassy 53 or HR 53 is a large sailboat designed by the Argentine maritime architect Germán Frers in the mid nineties. Less than 100 boats have been produced.

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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 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 only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.29 - 2.39 meter (7.51 - 7.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta TAMD 41B HD diesel engine at 145.0 hp (108 kW), which gives a max speed about 8.8 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 844.0 liters (222 US gallons, 185 imperial gallons).


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 Hallberg-Rassy 53 is 1.65, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 9.4 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 Hallberg-Rassy 53 is about 466 kg/cm, alternatively 2609 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 466 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2609 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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 53 is 40.9.

Low High 79% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 79% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 53 is 3.53.

Slim Wide 58% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 53 is 39%.

Low High 66% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 66% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Hallberg-Rassy 53 is 191 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

Heavy Light 62% 0 50 100
62% 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)

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 16.46


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 78m2 (839 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

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
Jib sheet 16.4 m(53.9 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet16.4 m(53.9 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 41.1 m(134.8 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet36.1 m(118.6 feet)16 mm(5/8 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 Hallberg-Rassy 53 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