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Review of Falmouth Cutter 22


Falmouth Cutter 22
Falmouth Cutter 22.

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Falmouth Cutter 22 is a small sailboat designed by the American maritime architect Lyle C. Hess in the late seventies. Less than 100 boats have been built. The Falmouth Cutter 22 is built by the American yard Cape George Marine Works, Inc..The boat has been build at other yards as well.

Looking for a new boat? Find a Falmouth Cutter 22 or similar boat for sale

Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.


Interior
Floor plan
Floor plan of Falmouth Cutter 22.

The boat is equipped with 4 berths, a galley, 151 liters (39 US gallons, 33 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The headroom is above average

The interior is like many other boats made of mahogany. Mahogany belongs to the hardwood species, known for being water-repellent and resistant to decay. It has an attractive wood grain and holds wood polish and varnish well.


Cockpit
Cockpit
Cockpit of Falmouth Cutter 22 anno 1994. S/V Anica.
Rig
Rig
Rig of Falmouth Cutter 22.

The Falmouth Cutter 22 is built with a cutter rig. A cutter rig breaks the yacht’s sail area down into smaller, easier to manage sails. Cutter rigs are often used for offshore sailing.


Keel
Profile of boat
Vertical profile of Falmouth Cutter 22.
Keel
Keel of Falmouth Cutter 22.

Full keel

The Falmouth Cutter 22 is built with a long keel. A long keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

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.

Falmouth Cutter 22 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.07 - 1.17 meter (3.51 - 3.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

The fuel tank has a capacity of 57 liters (15 US gallons, 12 imperial gallons).

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine at 7 hp (5 kW). Calculated max speed is about 3.3 knots

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.


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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Falmouth Cutter 22 is 1.64, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.1 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 Falmouth Cutter 22 is about 103 kg/cm, alternatively 581 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 103 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 581 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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Falmouth Cutter 22 is 33.6.

Low High 100% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 100% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Falmouth Cutter 22 is 2.75.

Slim Wide 62% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 62% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Falmouth Cutter 22 is 34%.

Low High 34% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio is higher than 34% of all similar sailboat designs. Since the ballast ratio and the righting moment (i.e. better ability to resist heeling) is strongly correlated, a ballast ratio just below average indicates an ability to resist heeling below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Falmouth Cutter 22 is 365 which categorizes this boat among 'ultra heavy cruisers'.

Heavy Light 4% 0 50 100
4% 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.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Falmouth Cutter 22 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 13.9, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.6.

Low High 18% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 18% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 38% 0 50 100
The Falmouth Cutter 22 has more rig than 38% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 17m2 (182 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.


Rig

Dimensions of sail.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

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
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 20.5 m(67.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard20.5 m(67.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard20.5 m(67.2 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet 6.7 m(22.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet6.7 m(22.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet 16.8 m(55.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet14.8 m(48.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Cunningham3.6 m(11.9 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap7.3 m(23.8 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul7.3 m(23.8 feet)8 mm(5/16 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Falmouth Cutter 22 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