Review of Sun Fast 17

Basic specs.

The Sun Fast 17 is a small sailboat designed by the Polish maritime architect Jacek Centkowski.

Here we would have liked to show you nice photos of the Sun Fast 17.
If you have a photo you would like to share: Upload Image

Looking for a new boat? Find a Sun Fast 17 or similar boat for sale

Hull

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.

Rig

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.

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.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 5.2 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 Sun Fast 17 is about 70 kg/cm, alternatively 396 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 70 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 396 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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sun Fast 17 is 2.20.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 95% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

Maintenance

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	15.9 m	(52.2 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	15.9 m	(52.2 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	15.9 m	(52.2 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Jib sheet	5.0 m	(16.6 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Genoa sheet	5.0 m	(16.6 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Mainsheet	12.6 m	(41.4 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	11.1 m	(36.5 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Cunningham	2.4 m	(7.9 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Kickingstrap	4.8 m	(15.7 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 inch)
Clew-outhaul	4.8 m	(15.7 feet)	6 mm	(1/4 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 Sun Fast 17 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.