Review of Skye 51

Basic specs.

The Skye 51 is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect bureau Kaufman & Ladd in the early eighties. Only a few boats have been produced. The Skye 51 is built by the Taiwanese yard Mao Ta Lumber and Yacht Corp..

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Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Rig

The boat equipped with a ketch rig.

Keel

The Skye 51 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 boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.13 - 2.23 meter (6.99 - 7.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.236 diesel engine at 85.0 hp (63 kW), which gives a max speed about 7.2 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 530.0 liters (140 US gallons, 116 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 Skye 51 is 1.68, 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 8.8 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 Skye 51 is about 380 kg/cm, alternatively 2129 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 380 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2129 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 Skye 51 is 38.1.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 66% 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 Skye 51 is 3.58.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 58% 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 Skye 51 is 40%.

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 Skye 51 is 218 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

50% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. This boat has a precise average ratio between displacement and length!

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Skye 51 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 14.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.8.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 1% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / 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 for ketch rig.

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**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	42.8 m	(140.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	42.8 m	(140.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	42.8 m	(140.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	15.5 m	(51.0 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	15.5 m	(51.0 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	38.8 m	(127.5 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	34.2 m	(112.2 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	4.9 m	(16.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	9.8 m	(32.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	9.8 m	(32.0 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 Skye 51 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

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.