Review of Maxi 108

Maxi 108 anno 1980. Maxi 108 for anker i den Stockholmske skærgård. Dette er en delvist modificeret udgave.

Basic specs.

The Maxi 108 is a sailboat designed by the Swedish maritime architect Pelle Petterson in the late seventies. A few hundred boats have been produced. The Maxi 108 is built by the Swedish yard Mölnlycke AB.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Maxi 108 or similar boat for sale

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.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

Interior

Interior of Maxi 108 anno 1980. Maxi 108 har et stort pantry og salon med god plads til 6 personer.

The interior is like most other boats made of teak.
The boat is equipped with 7 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

Front cabin of Maxi 108 anno 1980. Forkahyt med skabe i begge sider.

Aft cabin of Maxi 108 anno 1980. Der er gennemgang under dæk til agterkahytten.

Chart table of Maxi 108 anno 1980. Slingrekøje, gennemgang til agterkahyt og tv. kortbord.

Bathroom of Maxi 108 anno 1980. Toilet - findes i flere udgaver.

Cockpit

Cockpit of Maxi 108 anno 1980. Maxi 108 har et stort cockpit.

Rig

The boat equipped with 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.

Keel

The Maxi 108 has been built with more than one type of keel.

One option is 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 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.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.84 - 1.94 meter (6.04 - 6.34 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

Maxi 108 is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD11C diesel engine at 23.0 hp (17 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.2 knots.

The transmission is a saildrive.

The fuel tank which is made of stainless steel has a capacity of 120.0 liters (31 US gallons, 26 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 Maxi 108 is 1.84, 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 Maxi 108 is about 207 kg/cm, alternatively 1163 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 207 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1163 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 Maxi 108 is 28.1.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 58% 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 Maxi 108 is 3.16.

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.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Maxi 108 is 38%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Maxi 108 is 238 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

58% 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)

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

The SA/D for Maxi 108 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 19.4.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 42% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Maxi 108 has more rig than 54% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly overrigged.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Maxi 108 is 46

The relative speed performance is 46 which means that a it is faster than 46% 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 36m² (387 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 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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	32.8 m	(107.6 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	32.8 m	(107.6 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	32.8 m	(107.6 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet	10.8 m	(35.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	10.8 m	(35.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	26.9 m	(88.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	23.7 m	(77.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Cunningham	4.0 m	(13.1 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap	8.0 m	(26.2 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul	8.0 m	(26.2 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 Maxi 108 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.