– LeComte Yachts Archive –

The Alc 40 is built with a masthead rig. The sail area for the mailsail + jib is 55.5 m² (596.9 ft²). The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area – compared with a fractional rig – can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

The Alc 40 has been built with different keel alternatives. One option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel. 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. The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.40 – 1.50 meter (4.59 – 4.89 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Another option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel. 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. The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.75 – 1.85 meter (5.74 – 6.04 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Alc 40 may be equipped with an inboard Westerbeke 4-107 diesel engine at 37 hp (27 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.3 knots

The capsize screening value for Alc 40 is 1.88, indicating that this boat could – if evaluated by this formula alone – be accepted to participate in ocean races.

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 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.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Alc 40 is about 219 kg/cm, alternatively 1227 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 219 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1227 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Alc 40 is 27.1. Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just below average.

The l/b ratio for Alc 40 is 3.38. Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

The DL-ratio for Alc 40 is 250 which categorizes this boat among ‘light crusers & offshore racers’. 50% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. This boat has a precise average ratio between displacement and length!

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it’s nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 34m² (365 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.