The ETAP 28s is a Belgian

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by Marc-Oliver von Ahlen, with the interior designed by Stile Bertone, as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

and first built in 2007. The ETAP 28s was replaced in the company line by the ETAP 30cq in about 2011.

Production

The design was built by

ETAP Yachting ETAP Yachting is a Belgium, Belgian boat builder based in Lokeren. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. History The company was founded by Norbert Joris in 1970 and was originally a manufacturer of lig ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

between 2007 and 2011, but it is now out of production.

Design

The ETAP 28s is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

, with wood trim. The construction is of a

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

glassfibre and closed-cell polyurethane foam sandwich, which provides buoyancy and makes the boat unsinkable. It has a 7/8 fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

rig with a deck-stepped mast, a

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a walk-through

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transvers ...

, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

or shoal draft keel. The fin keel version displaces and carries of ballast, while the shoal draft version displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard fin keel and with the optional shoal draft keel. The boat is fitted with a Swedish Volvo Penta D1-20

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

for docking and manoeuvring. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a double berth mounted transversely. There is a stowage area in the forepeak. The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

is located on the port side just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...

ladder. The galley is L-shaped and is equipped with a two-burner stove, an

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

and a sink. A navigation station is opposite the galley, on the starboard side. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

is located just aft of the navigation station on the starboard side.

Operational history

The boat was at one time supported by a class club, the ''ETAP Owners Association''. In a 2007 review in ''Sailing magazine'',

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

Robert Perry wrote, "it's amazing what you can do in 28 feet, 2 inches today. Italian designer Stile Bertone created this interior. I can almost see this little 28-footer being a comfortable liveaboard boat for a single, compact lifestyle fellow or gal. There is a large double berth aft, a compact but reasonable galley to port and a wide, open saloon. The settee extends forward of the forward bulkhead. I'm not sure what the idea is there unless it's to provide short berths for short kids. It's a clever layout done in attractive light wood veneer with stainless steel pipe rail accents. I'm not sure how easy it would be for me to squeeze myself into that aft berth and it makes me chuckle (stop that!) to think of the person sleeping aft having to get out during the night." In a 2008 review in ''Practical Sailing'', Darrell Nicholson wrote, "with a displacement of 8,400 pounds, the Etap 28s is a stocky pocket cruiser. In addition to offering the fail-safe of positive buoyancy, she sports a spacious cabin for her size, along with a no-nonsense sail plan that makes it an easy boat to sail. However, there's no free lunch, and the extra beam, weight, and volume needed to add space for flotation results in a 28-footer with nearly 11 feet maximum beam. This adds to the skin drag and makes the addition of light-air sails a welcome option." In a ''Cruising World'' 2008 review Herb McCormick wrote, "we sailed the Etap on a day in which the breeze never topped 5 knots, and we couldn't begin to gauge the boat's real potential. The 28s would clearly be a lot of fun to drive and easily handled by a solo sailor or a couple. But its high boom, small headsail, and short rig-while no doubt ideal in the windy North Sea and other high-latitude destinations-suggests that it might be underpowered in such light-air venues as the Chesapeake. An overlapping genoa is an option we'd suggest for sailors who cover waters with low-to-moderate breeze."

References

External links

Official ETAP 28s video
(Italian narration)
Official website archive
on

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{ETAP Yachting Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Marc-Oliver von Ahlen Sailboat types built by ETAP Yachting

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links