– LeComte Yachts Archive –
1956 – 2025
– FASTNET 45 –
The Fastnet 45 is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect Alfred Edward Luders in the late sixties. Only a few boats have been built. The Fastnet 45 is built by the Dutch yard LeComte-Holland, N.V..
The hull is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.The Fastnet 45 is built with a masthead rig. The sail area for the mailsail + jib is 78.9 m2 (849.7 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 Fastnet 45 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 boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.06 – 2.16 meter (6.76 – 7.06 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The capsize screening value for Fastnet 45 is 1.68, 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 7.7 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 Fastnet 45 is about 249 kg/cm, alternatively 1399 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 249 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1399 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Fastnet 45 is 37.0. Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 69% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.
The l/b ratio for Fastnet 45 is 3.72. Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 82% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.
The ballast ratio for Fastnet 45 is 36%. This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This righting moment (ability to resist heeling) is spot on average!
The DL-ratio for Fastnet 45 is 313 which categorizes this boat among ‘medium weight cruisers’. 18% 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.
The SA/D for Fastnet 45 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.8. The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 15% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind. The Fastnet 45 has more rig than 46% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it’s nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 43m2 (462 ft2). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Sailboat Specifications
| Hull Type: | Fin with rudder on skeg |
| Rigging Type: | Masthead Sloop |
| LOA: | 45.58 ft / 13.89 m |
| LWL: | 32.82 ft / 10.00 m |
| S.A. (reported): | 850.00 ft² / 78.97 m² |
| Beam: | 12.25 ft / 3.73 m |
| Displacement: | 24,800.00 lb / 11,249 kg |
| Ballast: | 9,000.00 lb / 4,082 kg |
| Max Draft: | 6.75 ft / 2.06 m |
| Construction: | FG |
| First Built: | 1968 |
| # Built: | 19 |
| Builder: | Le Compte (NED) |
| Designer: | A. E. Luders |
Sailboat Calculations
| S.A. / Displ.: | 16.06 |
| Bal. / Displ.: | 36.29 |
| Disp: / Len: | 313.18 |
| Comfort Ratio: | 37.18 |
| Capsize Screening Formula: | 1.68 |
| S#: | 1.58 |
| Hull Speed: | 7.68 kn |
| Pounds/Inch Immersion: | 1,436.55 pounds/inch |
Rig and Sail Particulars
| I: | 51.00 ft / 15.54 m |
| J: | 17.00 ft / 5.18 m |
| P: | 45.00 ft / 13.72 m |
| E: | 18.50 ft / 5.64 m |
| S.A. Fore: | 433.50 ft² / 40.27 m² |
| S.A. Main: | 416.25 ft² / 38.67 m² |
| S.A. Total (100% Fore + Main Triangles): | 849.75 ft² / 78.94 m² |
| S.A./Displ. (calc.): | 16.05 |
| Est. Forestay Length: | 53.76 ft / 16.39 m |
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