Carter 33 ballast ratio and stability questions

Discussion in 'Stability' started by Boo2, Jan 30, 2010.

  1. alan white
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: maine

    alan white Senior Member

    The 33s had issues with the keel to hull joint, that is, stress cracks and subsequent water ingress over time. The proper fix was a much larger radius cove built up along each side of the keel and replacement of the floors with solid wood, at least that was what was done to my boat prior to my owning it.
    Your boat was probably built in Olympia, Greece.
     
  2. Steinsvik
    Joined: Aug 2010
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    Location: Norway

    Steinsvik Junior Member

    It turned out my boat also had MAJOR issues with the keel to hull joint. I assume a previous owner have crashed the boat into some rocks, as there were some old bad repairs in the hull above the keel.

    This summer I fixed the damage (the boat was taking in about 0,2 liters of water per day).

    I made a post of the repair process on my blog. It's in Norwegian, but you can read it through Google translate. Therefore forgive the wacky grammars: http://translate.google.no/translate?hl=no&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://steinsvik.blogspot.com/
     
  3. Steve W
    Joined: Jul 2004
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    Location: Duluth, Minnesota

    Steve W Senior Member

    That is a very nice looking boat Steinsvik, i love the beautiful classic interior.
    Steve.
     
  4. Steinsvik
    Joined: Aug 2010
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    Location: Norway

    Steinsvik Junior Member

    Thank you. Yes, the carpenters at Olympic Yachts who made the interior did an excellent job. The craftmanship is very good.
    I have however been unlucky with many other things on board. The engine (Volvo Penta 2003) has been repaired three times in two years, much of the electric wiring was dangerous and had to be replaced, a portion of the deck was delaminated and the keel had crushed parts of the hull below the waterline.
    Now it's all right, though. The plan is to sail around the world, starting summer 2013. :cool:

    This is how we fixed the delaminated deck:
     
  5. spliner
    Joined: Jan 2013
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    Location: Miami

    spliner New Member

    Carter 33 Stability is Excellent for Offshore Racing

    This question has no merit. The Carter 33 is a stable and solid performer in offshore conditions. The questioner must be one of these pencil sailors with marginal offshore experience. These boats were designs for sailing conditions that exceed daysailing specifications.


     
  6. sfolson
    Joined: Apr 2013
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    Location: DC metro area

    sfolson Steve

    All:

    I have had a Carter 33 for about 10 years. It was built in Greece by Olympic Boatyards, and came with the original Volvo Penta engine. It was demasted in the 90's I am told, and now has a Nirvana mast. We have replaced most everything on it, including the engine (Yanmar 15 hp 2 cyl).

    It has been a great boat for us. We have slowly sailed it from Turkey to Portugal over the years. I have always wondered about the displacement and ballast however. The specs say the displacement is 3.4 tons, but I find that hard to believe. We have added a lot of equipment (hard dinghy, radar, arch, solar panels, wind generator, wind-vane self steering, and lots of sails), and the scales on Travel-lifts (although not terribly precise) have yielded about 6 tons. Even though we have added a considerable amount, I don't think it amounts to 2.6 tons. Someone suggested the original displacement may be the bare hull, free of engine. Any ideas out there?

    Steve
     
  7. alan white
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: maine

    alan white Senior Member

    I think the displacement is supposed to be four tons. I'm sure it would have included the engine. Six tons seems a bit high. I'd guess the Travellift was inaccurate, though it makes sense you might add a ton fully loaded for cruising.
     

  8. P D Niggli
    Joined: Dec 2013
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    Location: Lake Ontario, USA

    P D Niggli New Member

    Carter 33 ratios

    I purchased a 1973 Carter Offshore 33 last fall. Sailed and cruised her this past summer on Lake Ontario. I started sailing in 1956, handling jib sheets on my mothers Snipe. I have sailed/raced on a dozen or so boats over the years and have owned a Cat 23, Cheetah 27, S2 9.2A and now the Carter 33.
    I bought her because of her hull design. Looking from the bow, you can see the hull is flat where the keel is connected. A slight radius out and up then a very clear flat portion leading up just past the boot stripe. The side now starts a bulb that curves up to the rebated gunwale. The flat spot corresponds to about a 20 degree heel. The bulbuss sides (somewhat like Cat 38, Carter 39, and other similar IOR boats) create a "pontoon" effect for greater heeling resistance making her limber in light air and stiff in heavy. So after sailing her for a season (5 months) my initial observations were dead center.
    In my opinion, ballast ratios etc. mean nothing by themselves. One can have one ballast ratio and 5 different hull designs, and you will have 5 different sailing aspects.
    Next, I can not believe the 7700 + - displacement Is accurate. Seeing how well this boat is founded, I would say someone subtracted the keel weight and listed that as the displacement. Most fiberglass 30 footers have a disp. of around 10,000 lbs. This boat, not being made of carbon fiber, should be in the 11,000lb range and it feels like it under sail.
    She is a total pleasure to sail and instills a lot of confidence. People ask me all the time what boat she is. They don't even hazard a guess, and are in total amazement when I enlighten them.
    I am the fifth owner. She has had a lot of use/misuse. I am returning her to factory condition in some respects, and repairing/replacing in others, and modifying in yet others.
    I am planning on racing her this summer in PHRF-LO races. We'll see how she does.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2013
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