Review of Avance 318

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. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

The boat is equipped with 4 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

The boat has more than one rig.

One option is a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Another option is a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

The Avance 318 is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.But be aware that even though a Wing Keel keel is very good for speed racing, a fishing nets and the like in the water can easily make you into a troublesome situation.

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. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

Avance 318 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.45 - 1.55 meter (4.76 - 5.06 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2002 diesel engine at 18.0 hp (13 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.6 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 48.0 liters (12 US gallons, 10 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Avance 318 is 1.99, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.0 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 Avance 318 is about 171 kg/cm, alternatively 959 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 171 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 959 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Avance 318 is 20.9.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 31% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Avance 318 is 3.08.

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.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Avance 318 is 34%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 18% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Avance 318 is 191 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

76% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

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

The SA/D for Avance 318 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.7, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.9.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 54% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

The Avance 318 has more rig than 97% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 28m² (301 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 for masthead 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.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Avance 318 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.

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