Océanis 500 Wing keel

Sailboat specifications

The Océanis 500 is a 49’1” (14.98m) cruising sailboat designed by Philippe Briand (France). She was built between 1987 and 1991 by Bénéteau (France) with 158 hulls completed. The Wing keel version is offered with a short keel fitted with large winglets. This configuration provides an interesting draft / low center of gravity / upwind performance trade-off.

Océanis 500's main features

Model: Océanis 500
Version: Wing keel
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Offshore cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Philippe Briand
Sailboat range: Océanis
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: 158
First built hull: 1987
Last built hull: 1991
Appendages: Keel : wing keel
Helm: Twin helm wheels
Rudder: Single spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
Former French navigation category: 1
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

Océanis 500's main dimensions

Overall length: 50’ 2”15.3 m
Hull length: 49’ 1”14.98 m
Waterline length: 44’ 7”13.58 m
Beam (width): 15’ 7”4.75 m
Draft: 5’ 11”1.8 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 30865 lb14000 kg
Ballast weight: 10803 lb4900 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron

Océanis 500's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 1119 ft²104 m²
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi (in-mast furling mainsail) masthead
Mast configuration: Keel stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 2
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire

Océanis 500's performances

Upwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size. Upwind: under 18 the ratio indicates a cruise oriented sailboat with limited performances especially in light wind, while over 25 it indicates a fast sailboat.: 193 ft²/T17.9 m²/T
Displacement-length ratio (DLR) iThe Displacement Length Ratio (DLR) is a figure that points out the boat's weight compared to its waterline length. The DLR is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement in tons by the cube of one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet). The DLR can be used to compare the relative mass of different sailboats no matter what their length: a DLR less than 180 is indicative of a really light sailboat (race boat made for planning), while a DLR greater than 300 is indicative of a heavy cruising sailboat.: 158
Ballast ratio iThe Ballast ratio is an indicator of stability; it is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement by the mass of the ballast. Since the stability depends also of the hull shapes and the position of the center of gravity, only the boats with similar ballast arrangements and hull shapes should be compared. The higher the ballast ratio is, the greater is the stability.: 35 %
Critical hull speed iAs a ship moves in the water, it creates standing waves that oppose its movement. This effect increases dramatically the resistance when the boat reaches a speed-length ratio (speed-length ratio is the ratio between the speed in knots and the square root of the waterline length in feet) of about 1.2 (corresponding to a Froude Number of 0.35) . This very sharp rise in resistance, between speed-length ratio of 1.2 to 1.5, is insurmountable for heavy sailboats and so becomes an apparent barrier. This leads to the concept of "hull speed". The hull speed is obtained by multiplying the square root of the waterline length (in feet) by 1.34.: 8.94 knots