Kelt 8.50 Centerboard (Trunk)

Sailboat specifications

The Kelt 8.50 is a 27’11” (8.5m) cruising sailboat designed by Vaton Design (France). She was built between 1983 and 1996 by Kelt (France). The Centerboard (Trunk) version grants a minimal draft when the centerboard is lifted allowing beaching and easy access to shallow areas.

Kelt 8.50's main features

Model: Kelt 8.50
Version: Centerboard (Trunk)
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder: Kelt
Sailboat designer: Vaton Design
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: About 600
First built hull: 1983
Last built hull: 1996
Appendages: Centerboard : pivoting centerboard
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single semi-spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
Former French navigation category: 2
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

Kelt 8.50's main dimensions

Hull length: 27’ 11”8.5 m
Waterline length: 24’ 7”7.5 m
Beam (width): 10’ 2”3.1 m
Draft: 2’ 1”0.65 m
Draft when appendages up: 5’ 11”1.8 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 7055 lb3200 kg
Ballast weight: 3307 lb1500 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron interior ballast with steel centerboard
French customs tonnage: 7.15 Tx

Kelt 8.50's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 484 ft²45 m²
Downwind sail area: 883 ft²82 m²
Mainsail area: 205 ft²19 m²
Genoa area: 280 ft²26 m²
Solent area: 196 ft²18.2 m²
Jib area: 158 ft²14.7 m²
Stormjib area: 39 ft²3.65 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 678 ft²63 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 34’ 10”10.61 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 10’ 4”3.14 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 33’ 6”10.21 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 9’ 11”3.02 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 9/10
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 1
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire continuous

Kelt 8.50's performances

HN (French rating) iHN or "Handicap Nationale" is an empirical rating system used in France allowing various monohulls, of different sizes and designs, to race each other fairly. It is particularly suitable for cruiser and cruiser-racer. Therefore, by comparing these values, we can have an indication of the relative speed of 2 boats.: 17.0
Upwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size. Upwind: under 18 the ratio indicates a cruise oriented sailboat with limited performances especially in light wind, while over 25 it indicates a fast sailboat.: 223 ft²/T20.72 m²/T
Downwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size.: 406 ft²/T37.76 m²/T
Displacement-length ratio (DLR) iThe Displacement Length Ratio (DLR) is a figure that points out the boat's weight compared to its waterline length. The DLR is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement in tons by the cube of one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet). The DLR can be used to compare the relative mass of different sailboats no matter what their length: a DLR less than 180 is indicative of a really light sailboat (race boat made for planning), while a DLR greater than 300 is indicative of a heavy cruising sailboat.: 215
Ballast ratio iThe Ballast ratio is an indicator of stability; it is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement by the mass of the ballast. Since the stability depends also of the hull shapes and the position of the center of gravity, only the boats with similar ballast arrangements and hull shapes should be compared. The higher the ballast ratio is, the greater is the stability.: 47 %
Critical hull speed iAs a ship moves in the water, it creates standing waves that oppose its movement. This effect increases dramatically the resistance when the boat reaches a speed-length ratio (speed-length ratio is the ratio between the speed in knots and the square root of the waterline length in feet) of about 1.2 (corresponding to a Froude Number of 0.35) . This very sharp rise in resistance, between speed-length ratio of 1.2 to 1.5, is insurmountable for heavy sailboats and so becomes an apparent barrier. This leads to the concept of "hull speed". The hull speed is obtained by multiplying the square root of the waterline length (in feet) by 1.34.: 6.65 knots

Kelt 8.50's auxiliary engine

Engine(s): 1 inboard engine
Engine(s) power (min./max.): 8 HP / 15 HP
Fuel type: Diesel
Fuel tank capacity: 6.6 gal25 liters

Kelt 8.50's accommodations and layout

Cockpit: Closed aft cockpit
Cabin(s): 1
Berth(s): 6
Head(s): 1
Freshwater tank capacity: 39.6 gal150 liters
Fridge/ice-box capacity: 23.8 gal90 liters
Maximum headroom: 5’ 11”1.8 m
Galley headroom: 5’ 11”1.79 m
Head headroom: 5’ 7”1.71 m

Kelt 8.50's saloon

Maximum headroom: 5’ 10”1.78 m
Saloon table length: 2’ 8”0.82 m
Saloon table width (min./max.): 2’ 7”0.79 m / 3’ 2”0.99 m
Saloon width (min./max.): 6’ 1”1.85 m / 7’ 6”2.3 m
Berth length: 6’ 6”1.97 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 1’ 10”0.56 m / 1’ 10”0.55 m / 1’ 7”0.48 m / 1’ 2”0.38 m

Kelt 8.50's fore cabin

Berth length: 6’ 7”2 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 5’ 11”1.8 m / 4’ 11”1.5 m / 3’ 4”1 m / 1’ 7”0.48 m

Kelt 8.50's aft cabin

Maximum headroom: 5’ 7”1.71 m
Berth length: 5’ 11”1.79 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 5’ 2”1.58 m / 5’ 2”1.57 m / 4’ 6”1.38 m / 3’ 6”1.07 m