The ETAP 37s 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 Mortain & Mavrikios 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 2003.

Production

The design has been 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 ...

since 2003. It remained advertised as still in production in 2021.

Design

The ETAP 37s 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 9/10 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; a

raked 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 raised counter,

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 ...

with steps and a swim platform; 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

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...

and a fixed

wing keel The winged keel is a sailboat keel layout first fitted on the 12-metre class yacht ''Australia II'', 1983 America's Cup winner. Design This layout was adopted by Ben Lexcen, designer of ''Australia II''. Although Ben Lexcen "had tried the winged ...

or optional tandem keels. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard wing keel and with the optional tandem keels. The boat is fitted with a Swedish

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

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 ...

of for docking and manoeuvring. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The design has sleeping accommodation for six people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a double berth on the port side. 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 equipped with a two-burner stove and double sinks. 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 and includes a shower. For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a

gennaker A gennaker is a sail that was developed around 1990. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is not symmetric like a true spinnaker but is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the for ...

of .

Operational history

The boat was at one time supported by a class club, the ''ETAP Owners Association''. In a 2003 review Barry Tranter of ''Yacht and Boat'' magazine described the design as "a boat for which seaworthiness was a major design factor, in a manner almost forgotten in the modern cruiser/racer. The hull is extremely well behaved, but you cannot help being impressed by the design detail. The boat gives every promise of being able to handle itself at sea, and the cook should be able to produce hot meals for as long as the crew is capable of eating them." Darrell Nicholson wrote in a review in ''Practical Sailor'', "the Etap 37 occupies a spot at the high end of the market when measured against most production boats of similar size. However, she is priced competitively compared to quality boats designed for offshore passages. Buyers will pay a premium for her unsinkability. Somers explained that “this construction method adds 20 to 30 percent” to the cost of construction, which raises a question about a) the necessity of an unsinkable boat, or b) the veracity of CE category A. The CE certification (required of all recreational boats sold in the European Union) does not hold offshore cruisers to an unsinkable standard, or require construction methods as stringent as a Lloyd's certification. Most sailors are aware of the risk of going to sea, but assume that a liferaft affords a great degree of protection in the event of a holing. Ultimately, then, a prospective owner may be forced to weigh the risks of an offshore catastrophe with the additional cost of an unsinkable craft. As with any monohull, if the keel falls off it will turtle, though this boat will be more buoyant than a conventionally constructed sailboat." In a review in ''Sail'' magazine, Tom Dove concluded, "Etap has built more than 6,000 unsinkable boats, so this is a proven technology. The boats are comfortable, look sharp, and sail well. The engineering and construction costs a bit more than more conventional techniques and you lose a bit of interior space, but when you're offshore it should be comforting to know that nothing short of cannon fire will do you in." Tim Murphy described the boat for ''Cruising World'', "Etap Yachting has incorporated many of the Award Winning design features of its 2003 BOTY Award Winner, the Etap 32s, into its newest model in the acclaimed 'S' series from Etap--the new Etap 37s--big sister to the 32s. 'S' stands loosely for 'Sport' in the European vernacular, as in Adventure, and the new Etap 37s represents the series nicely..."

References

External links

* {{ETAP Yachting Keelboats 2000s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Mortain & Mavrikios Sailboat types built by ETAP Yachting

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links