Sun Fast 17

Sailboat specifications

The Sun Fast 17 is a 16’7” (5.05m) cruising sailboat designed by Jacek Centkowski (Poland). She was built between 1994 and 1999 by Jeanneau (France).

Sun Fast 17's main features

Model: Sun Fast 17
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Coastal cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder: Jeanneau
Sailboat designer: Jacek Centkowski
Sailboat range: Sun Fast
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: About 300
First built hull: 1994
Last built hull: 1999
Appendages: Centerboard : pivoting centerboard
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single transom hung rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: Yes
Former French navigation category: 5
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

Sun Fast 17's main dimensions

Overall length: 17’ 7”5.35 m
Hull length: 16’ 7”5.05 m
Waterline length: 15’ 1”4.6 m
Beam (width): 7’ 6”2.3 m
Draft: 3’ 4”1 m
Draft when appendages up: 0’ 10”0.24 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 1323 lb600 kg
Ballast weight: 276 lb125 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron
French customs tonnage: 2.46 Tx

Sun Fast 17's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 145 ft²13.5 m²
Downwind sail area: 258 ft²24 m²
Mainsail area: 97 ft²9 m²
Genoa area: 48 ft²4.5 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 161 ft²15 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 16’ 7”5.05 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 5’ 5”1.65 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 19’ 2”5.85 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 7’ 11”2.4 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 3/4
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 1
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire continuous

Sun Fast 17'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.: 204 ft²/T18.98 m²/T
Downwind 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.: 363 ft²/T33.74 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.: 175
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.: 21 %
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.: 5.21 knots