We made a comparison between the sailboats on the market of the size of the Walkabout 39, using data published by the various boatyards.
In the comparison table you can find the calculation of 3 coefficients that allow an objective comparison (based only on numbers ) between the different boats: Displacement/waterline length, Sailing Surface/ Displacement, Weight Keel / Displacement
Below is a brief, non-exhaustive explanation of the coefficients and how to interpret them
Displacement/Waterline length
It 'used to compare the relative mass of the various boats freeing the length (without taking into account the width!). Simplifying is an index of "lightness"
Sailing surface/Displacement
It 'a measure of the sails power relate to the boat weight and allows you to compare the level of "sail plan" of a boat. The higher the value more the boat is reactive, ie accelerates rapidly.
This coefficient should be calculated using the sail area calculated with the values I, J, P, E, but those data are not often available for all boats, so we decided to calculate it using the sail area as the sum of the mainsail and genoa surface.
Keel weight / Displacement
This coefficient tells us what percentage of the total weight of the boat goes in the keel. And is an indicator (partial because it does not take into account the shape of the hull and the draft) of the stability, or the resistance to heeling.