– LeComte Yachts Archive –
1956 – 2025
– MALABAR –
The Malabar Sr. is a sailboat designed by the American maritime architect John Gale Alden in the mid fifties. The Malabar Sr. is built by the Dutch yard LeComte-Holland, N.V.
The hull is made of wood. The Malabar Sr. is built with a masthead rig. The sail area for the mailsail + jib is 51.6 m2 (556.0 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 Malabar Sr. 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 enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.52 – 1.62 meter (4.99 – 5.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The capsize screening value for Malabar Sr. is 1.77, 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 6.6 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 Malabar Sr. is about 146 kg/cm, alternatively 821 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 146 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 821 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Malabar Sr. is 29.2. Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.
The l/b ratio for Malabar Sr. is 3.41. Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 69% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.
The DL-ratio for Malabar Sr. is 334 which categorizes this boat among ‘heavy cruisers’. 15% 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 Malabar Sr. with ISO 8666 reference sail is 18.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.4.The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 73% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it’s nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 25m2 (269 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Sailboat Specifications
| Hull Type: | Long Keel |
| Rigging Type: | Masthead Sloop |
| LOA: | 33.25 ft / 10.13 m |
| LWL: | 24.17 ft / 7.37 m |
| S.A. (reported): | 505.00 ft² / 46.92 m² |
| Beam: | 9.75 ft / 2.97 m |
| Displacement: | 13,200.00 lb / 5,987 kg |
| Ballast: | 4,200.00 lb / 1,905 kg |
| Max Draft: | 5.00 ft / 1.52 m |
| Construction: | Wood |
| Ballast Type: | Iron |
| First Built: | 1956 |
| Last Built: | 1963 |
| # Built: | 24 |
| Builder: | Le Compte (NL) |
| Designer: | John G. Alden |
Auxiliary Power/Tanks (orig. equip.)
| Make: | Universal |
| Model: | Atomic 4 |
| Type: | Gas |
| HP: | 25 |
| Fuel: | 30 gals / 114 L |
Accommodations
| Water: | 35 gals / 132 L |
Sailboat Calculations
| S.A. / Displ.: | 14.52 |
| Bal. / Displ.: | 31.82 |
| Disp: / Len: | 417.35 |
| Comfort Ratio: | 36.53 |
| Capsize Screening Formula: | 1.65 |
| S#: | 1.00 |
| Hull Speed: | 6.59 kn |
| Pounds/Inch Immersion: | 842.03 pounds/inch |
Rig and Sail Particulars
| I: | 40.92 ft / 12.47 m |
| J: | 12.71 ft / 3.87 m |
| P: | 35.86 ft / 10.93 m |
| E: | 16.50 ft / 5.03 m |
| S.A. Fore: | 260.05 ft² / 24.16 m² |
| S.A. Main: | 295.85 ft² / 27.49 m² |
| S.A. Total (100% Fore + Main Triangles): | 555.90 ft² / 51.64 m² |
| S.A./Displ. (calc.): | 15.98 |
| Est. Forestay Length: | 42.85 ft / 13.06 m |
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