Review of North Wind 38

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

The boat is equipped with 9 berths.

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.

The North Wind 38 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 only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.10 - 2.20 meter (6.89 - 7.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

North Wind 38 is typically equipped with an inboard diesel engine at 40.0 hp (29 kW), which gives a max speed about 6.5 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 182.0 liters (48 US gallons, 40 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for North Wind 38 is 1.95, 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 7.4 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 North Wind 38 is about 230 kg/cm, alternatively 1289 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 230 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1289 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for North Wind 38 is 26.6.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for North Wind 38 is 3.10.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 66% 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 North Wind 38 is 47%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 85% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for North Wind 38 is 258 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore 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.

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

The SA/D for North Wind 38 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.9, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.8.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 58% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

The North Wind 38 has more rig than 31% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 40m² (430 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 North Wind 38 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.