Review of Sou'Wester 59

The boat is equipped with 2+5 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 Sou'Wester 59 is equipped with a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

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 only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.98 - 2.08 meter (6.50 - 6.80 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Sou'Wester 59 is 1.46, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Sou'Wester 59 holds one CE certification:

The boat is by European Union certified as Class A. OCEAN:

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.9 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 Sou'Wester 59 is about 416 kg/cm, alternatively 2329 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 416 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2329 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sou'Wester 59 is 3.89.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 85% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Sou'Wester 59 is 362 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

1% 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 Sou'Wester 59 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 13.7, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.2.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 85m² (914 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 Sou'Wester 59 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.