Kelt 8m Deep draft

Sailboat specifications

The Kelt 8m is a 26’2” (8m) cruising sailboat designed by Gilles Ollier (France). She was built between 1977 and 1983 by Kelt (France). The Deep draft version displays a deeper fin allowing a lower center of gravity and extra performance especially upwind.

Kelt 8m's main features

Model: Kelt 8m
Version: Deep draft
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder: Kelt
Sailboat designer: Gilles Ollier
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: About 400
First built hull: 1977
Last built hull: 1983
Appendages: Keel : fin without bulb
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
Former French navigation category: 2
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

Kelt 8m's main dimensions

Overall length: 27’ 1”8.25 m
Hull length: 26’ 2”8 m
Waterline length: 20’ 4”6.2 m
Beam (width): 9’ 10”2.98 m
Waterline beam (width): 8’ 1”2.47 m
Draft: 4’ 7”1.4 m
Mast height from D_WL: 35’ 5”10.8 m
Fore freeboard: 3’ 4”1.01 m
Mid-ship freeboard: 3’ 1”0.93 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 5291 lb2400 kg
Maximum displacement (M_LDC): 6570 lb2980 kg
Ballast weight: 1984 lb900 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron
French customs tonnage: 6.65 Tx

Kelt 8m's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 431 ft²40 m²
Downwind sail area: 737 ft²68.5 m²
Mainsail area: 145 ft²13.5 m²
Genoa area: 285 ft²26.5 m²
Solent area: 215 ft²20 m²
Jib area: 151 ft²14 m²
Stormjib area: 54 ft²5 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 592 ft²55 m²
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 27’ 7”8.4 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 9’ 2”2.8 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi masthead
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 1
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: Continuous

Kelt 8m's performances

IOR rating iIOR, or International Offshore Rule, was a measurement rule system used internationally for ocean racing. It allows boats of different sizes and designs to race each other fairly. Therefore, by comparing these values, we can have an indication of the relative speed of 2 boats.: 19.5
HN (French rating) iHN or "Handicap Nationale" is an empirical rating system used in France allowing various monohulls, of different sizes and designs, to race each other fairly. It is particularly suitable for cruiser and cruiser-racer. Therefore, by comparing these values, we can have an indication of the relative speed of 2 boats.: 3.5
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.: 240 ft²/T22.31 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.: 411 ft²/T38.21 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.: 285
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.: 38 %
Wetted area: 170 ft²15.81 m²
Maximum transverse section: 13 ft²1.21 m²
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.: 6.04 knots