Review of Elvstrøm 6.5

Elvstrøm 6.5 anno 1975.

Basic specs.

The Elvstrøm 6.5 aka Elvstrøm 6,5 is a small sailboat designed by the maritime architect bureau Elvstrøm & Kjærulff in the mid seventies. The Elvstrøm 6.5 is built by the French yard Yachting France.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Elvstrøm 6.5 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. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

Interior

Interior of Elvstrøm 6.5 anno 1975.

The boat is equipped with 5 berths and a galley.
The headroom is below average

Cockpit

Cockpit of Elvstrøm 6.5 anno 1975.

Rig

The boat equipped with 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.

Keel

The Elvstrøm 6.5 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.

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

An outboard motor is often used on this boat. In that case Elvstrøm 6.5 will typically require a power of 2 - 3 hp, alternatively 51 - 61 lbs thrust if you prefer an electrical motor. Electric outboards are becoming popular for sailboat owners who want clean instant power with less noise and no exhaust fumes.

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 Elvstrøm 6.5 is 2.26, indicating that this boat would not 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 5.7 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 Elvstrøm 6.5 is about 85 kg/cm, alternatively 480 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 85 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 480 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 Elvstrøm 6.5 is 13.5.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This is an average comfort value!

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Elvstrøm 6.5 is 2.77.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Elvstrøm 6.5 is 197 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

46% 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 Elvstrøm 6.5 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 18.5, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.7.

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

Over- / underrigged

The Elvstrøm 6.5 has more rig than 38% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Elvstrøm 6.5 is 54

The relative speed performance is 54 which means that a it is faster than 54% of all similar sailboat designs.

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 15m² (161 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 fractional 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	22.1 m	(72.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	22.1 m	(72.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	22.1 m	(72.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet	6.5 m	(21.3 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	6.5 m	(21.3 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	16.2 m	(53.3 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	14.3 m	(46.9 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Cunningham	2.5 m	(8.2 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap	5.0 m	(16.4 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul	5.0 m	(16.4 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 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 Elvstrøm 6.5 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

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