Sailing is an unquestionably wonderful experience. Cruising to new shores, relaxing in the sun, feeling the smooth breeze, racing, and other remarkable adventures are some of the things you can experience. Sailing gives us worthwhile and stimulating moments, but it also requires us to be aware of our sailboat’s characteristics. In this article, I’m going to refer to the factors affecting a sailboat’s weight, give you some examples, as well as provide you detailed information about them. Follow me!

Why Weight Matters?

The weight of sailboats is separated into three different categories of weight measurements: dry weight, displacement, and tonnage. Understanding the way in which each one of these methods function means understanding your sailboat’s weight. Each of these methods plays a crucial role in order to accurately determine a sailboat’s weight. For instance, dry weight and displacement are closely related. Displacement is a vital element for determining your sailboat’s capabilities. Heavy and deep-keel sailboats manage well in rough seas when you’re not racing with a high D/L ratio.

Keep in mind that there’s a lot of factors that affect a sailboat’s weight, like its hull type, length, mast and rig setup, gear, and onboard equipment. In order to know the dry weight of your sailboat, you’ll need to first determine if your vessel can actually tow it. Moreover, tonnage is also important, especially for long-passage cruising. With tonnage, you can calculate the number of supplies, water, and how many people you can take on board.

Towing and Vessel Capabilities

It’s of high importance to know the weight of your sailboat if you plan on towing it. In other words, its weight will determine if it can be towed, and with what type of vessels it can be towed. In case you wish to transport your sailboat to different areas with another vehicle, then you have to know your sailboat’s weight. The capabilities of your sailboat determine your sailboat’s weight. For example, if it’s able for racing or if it can handle rough seas, and how fast or far it can go.

Dry Weight

Imagine placing your sailboat on a scale. The number that appears on the scale would be what we call dry weight. Dry weight is basically how much a sailboat weighs when it’s both empty and dry. In other words, the weight when there’s no extra weight on board. This type of measurement is important in case you plan on towing or transporting your sailboat with a vehicle. This is because the dry weight of your sailboat will be the weight you’ll have to tow. In addition, there are other things that affect the weight of the sailboat. These are the mast and rigging type, the hull material (wood or fiberglass), and deck equipment.

For example, solid hardwood masts often weigh hundreds of pounds more than hollow masts, as well as heavy brass deck equipment that also adds up weight. All these elements contribute to the dry weight of a sailboat and can make a significant difference in weight.

Displacement

Displacement is the most usual form of weight measurements in sailboats. When the weight of a sailboat is listed somewhere the displacement method is often used to define its weight. The displacement of a sailboat is equal to its weight, along with every other weight onboard at the time of measurement. This can include fuel, water, deck equipment, gear, etc. This method is called displacement due to the fact that measures the amount of water that the sailboat displaces. To give you a better idea about it, a sailboat has to weigh less water than the water it already displaces, otherwise, it could sink.

So, we calculate the weight of the water volume that the sailboat displaces. However, the displacement value of a sailboat differentiates in salt and freshwater. This happens because saltwater weighs 64.1 pounds per cubic foot, and freshwater weighs 62.4 pounds per cubic foot. And what does that mean? It means that a sailboat will displace more freshwater because saltwater basically has an upward direction towards the vessel.

Tonnage

Tonnage, size, and displacement are directly related. But, what exactly is tonnage? Tonnage is the volume of the sailboat’s internal space and also helps to define the cargo-carrying capacity within it. As for the freshwater and saltwater displacement’s difference, the same thing also applies to tonnage. Furthermore, cargo tonnage is measured in long tons, the same way with displacement. In other words, to get the cargo tonnage value you just divide the tonnage in pounds by 2,240.

Examples – Common Sailboats

• Small Sailboats: Small sailboats are considered the ones with an average length of 15 to 20 feet and an average weight of 400 to 2,500 pounds.
• Dinghies: Dinghies have an average length of fewer than 12 feet and their average weight is 100 to 200 pounds.
• Medium Sailboats: Medium-sized sailboats are those having an average length of 21 to 25 feet and an average weight of 2,500 to 5,000 pounds.
• Large Sailboats: Large sailboats are considered the ones with an average length of 35 to 40 feet and an average weight of 12,000 to 30,000 pounds.
• Cruising Sailboats: Cruising boats have an average length of 27 to 32 feet and an average weight of 7,000 to 12,000 pounds.

Examples – Weights of Popular Sailboat Models

• The Wayfarer (dinghy) is 15 feet 10 inches and weighs 400lbs.
• The Siren 17  has a length of 17.17 feet, and it weighs approximately 430lbs.
• The Catalina 16.5 Capri is 17.2 feet and weighs 430lbs.
• The Sea Pearl 21 is 21 feet and weighs 600lbs.
• The Hunter 22 has a length of 21,3 feet and weighs 2000lbs.
• The Jeanneau Sun 2000 is 21 feet 8 inches and weighs 2756lbs.
• The Beneteau First 235 is 23.3 feet and weighs 2826lbs.
• The Catalina 25 Capri is 24.6 feet and weighs 2950lbs.
• The Catalina 30 weight 10,200lbs
• The Jeanneau Fantasia 27 has a length of 27 feet 5 inches and weighs 3800lbs.
• The Cornish Crabber 22 is 27 feet and weighs 4480lbs.
• Sun Odyssey 30 is 29 feet 8 inches and weighs 7000lbs.
• The Catalina 350 is 35.4 feet and weighs 12,937lbs.
• Pearson 39 is 39.2 feet and 17000lbs.
• Beneteau Oceanis 40 is 39.9 feet long and weighs 18,210lbs.
• Beneteau Oceanis 45 is 45’9” and weights 23,257lbs
• The Valiant 40 weighs 23,500lbs
• The Hinckley Bermuda 40 weighs 20,000
• The Hallberg-Rassy 42 weighs 27,500lbs
• The Beneteau 57 weighs 47,500lbs
• The Jeanneau 54 weighs 37,840lbs

Summary

Common sailboats tend to weigh about 120 and 30,000 pounds. As for the average sailboat, this weighs around 8,845 pounds. Keep in mind that we refer to dry weight and don’t measure additional equipment, fuel, gear, etc. As aforementioned, in order to correctly weigh a sailboat, you’d need to take into account the three weight measurements. Furthermore, don’t forget that a sailboat’s weight is usually calculated without its engine, gear, water tanks, equipment, or persons in it. In short, an average sailboat of15-20 feet weighs around 1047 pounds. Moreover, the average weight of a 21-25 feet sailboat is around 2826lbs and the average weight of a 27-32 feet sailboats is 5410 lbs. Finally, the average weight of a 35-40ft sailboat is approximately 18,918 lbs.