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Review of Malö 50


Malö 50
Malö 50 anno 1976. Malø 50 Ketch


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Malö 50 is a motorsailer designed by the maritime architect Olsöner, Henån in the late sixties. A few hundred boats have been produced. The Malö 50 is built by the Swedish yard Malö Yachts AB.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Malö 50 or similar boat for sale

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

Interior
The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 7 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

Keel

The Malö 50 is equipped with 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.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.35 - 1.45 meter (4.43 - 4.73 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Malö 50 is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD2A diesel engine at 75.0 hp (55 kW), which gives a max speed about 8.8 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 260.0 liters (68 US gallons, 57 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 Malö 50 is 1.75, 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 7.3 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 Malö 50 is about 202 kg/cm, alternatively 1131 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 202 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1131 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 Malö 50 is 31.7.

Low High 73% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Malö 50 is 3.31.

Wide Slim 62% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 62% 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 Malö 50 is 44%.

Low High 73% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 73% 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 Malö 50 is 275 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 42% 0 50 100
42% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Malö 50 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 13.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 15.9.

Low High 14% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 14% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.
Don't panic! It is expected that motor sailers has a low SA/D value as this is the natural consequence of the design combining sailing and motor boat characteristics.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 50% 0 50 100
The Malö 50 has more rig than 50% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that this rig is spot on average!


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Malö 50 is 1

Slow Fast 1% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 1 which means that a it is faster than 1% of all similar sailboat designs. As this boat is a motor sailer, it is expected that the performance of a motor sailer for sail alone is lower than a dedicated sailboat.


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 32m2 (344 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 genoa specifications spinnaker 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 29.1 m(95.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard29.1 m(95.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard29.1 m(95.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet 11.1 m(36.4 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet11.1 m(36.4 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 27.8 m(91.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet24.4 m(80.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Cunningham4.2 m(13.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap8.4 m(27.6 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul8.4 m(27.6 feet)12 mm(1/2 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 Malö 50 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