Review of Senorita Helmsman

Senorita Helmsman anno 1978.

Basic specs.

The Senorita Helmsman aka Seniorita Helmsman is a sailboat designed by the Swedish maritime architect Håkan Södergren in the late seventies. The Senorita Helmsman is built by the Finnish yard Lito Marin.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Senorita Helmsman or similar boat for sale

Hull

Deck plan of Senorita Helmsman.

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

Floor plan of Senorita Helmsman.

The interior is like many other boats made of mahogany.
The boat is equipped with 5 berths and a galley.

Rig

Rig of Senorita Helmsman anno 1978.

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 Senorita Helmsman 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 keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.50 - 1.60 meter (4.92 - 5.22 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

Senorita Helmsman is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD5 diesel engine at 7.0 hp (5 kW), which gives a max speed about 3.9 knots.

The transmission is a saildrive.

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 Senorita Helmsman 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 6.6 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 Senorita Helmsman is about 117 kg/cm, alternatively 659 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 117 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 659 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 Senorita Helmsman is 23.7.

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 Senorita Helmsman is 4.07.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 99% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Senorita Helmsman is 42%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 58% 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 Senorita Helmsman 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.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Senorita Helmsman with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.5, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.0.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 38% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Senorita Helmsman has more rig than 79% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Senorita Helmsman is 27

The relative speed performance is 27 which means that a it is faster than 27% 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 22m² (236 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	27.8 m	(91.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	27.8 m	(91.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	27.8 m	(91.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet	9.6 m	(31.5 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet	9.6 m	(31.5 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet	24.0 m	(78.7 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	21.1 m	(69.3 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Cunningham	3.1 m	(10.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap	6.2 m	(20.3 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul	6.2 m	(20.3 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 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 Senorita Helmsman 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.