Design and Construction
The hull is solid fiberglass, and a fiberglass hull of this sort needs only minimal maintenance during the sailing season. What defines the underwater profile is the long keel, cast in lead rather than iron. Lead's greater density — about 44 percent heavier than iron — let the designers use a more compact keel, which trims wetted surface and buys a little speed without sacrificing the directional steadiness a long keel naturally gives better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel. The trade-off is real: that same steadiness makes her more awkward to pivot in a tight marina. With a draft of roughly 6.6 to 6.9 feet depending on load, she is restricted to deeper harbours and cannot tuck into the shallow anchorages a fin-keel boat might reach.
Hull Form and Performance Character
The numbers behind the Bianca 28 describe a deliberately heavy, slim cruiser. Her length-to-beam ratio of 3.23 means she is narrower than 73 percent of comparable designs, and the designer appears to have chosen a slightly quicker hull form within that slender envelope. The displacement-length ratio of 282 places her among "heavy cruisers," with only 34 percent of similar boats rated heavier. That mass, paired with a modest waterplane area, yields low acceleration but a more settled motion — the Motion Comfort Ratio of 20.1 is just below the average for the class, more comfortable than 46 percent of similar sailboats. Her ballast ratio gives her an above-average resistance to heeling, and a capsize screening value of 1.99 would, by that formula alone, admit her to ocean racing.
Rig and Sail Handling
She is a masthead sloop, and the standing and running rigging follow period Scandinavian practice. The reference sail plan shows a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.6, rising to 17.5 with a 135 percent genoa. By that measure she is quicker than 31 percent of similar boats in light air, yet the data also shows she carries more rig than only 10 percent of her peers — meaning she is significantly underrigged for her displacement. Relative Speed Performance is rated at 38, putting her ahead of 38 percent of comparable designs. Halyard and sheet lengths are well documented: mainsail and headsail halyards run about 73 feet at 5/16 inch, jib and genoa sheets about 27.5 feet at 3/8 inch, and the mainsheet 69 feet at 3/8 inch.
Accommodations
Below, the Bianca 28 is fitted with five berths and a galley. The arrangement suits a small family or two couples for coastal passages, and the heavy-displacement hull that slows her acceleration also smooths the cabin experience at anchor and under way.
Known Limitations
The principal constraint is draft. At just over six and a half feet loaded, she is locked out of all but major marinas, and the long-keel profile that steadies her on a compass course makes close-quarters handling in confined harbours genuinely more difficult. Her underrigged sail plan means she will not leap onto the plane in a breeze the way a lighter, taller boat might.
The Verdict
The Bianca 28 is a thoughtfully proportioned small cruiser from the mid-1970s Danish fiberglass tradition: slim, heavy, and directionally sure, with a lead long keel that trades tight-harbour agility for offshore steadiness. She is an honest coastal and moderate-distance boat for an owner who values a settled motion and simple hull maintenance over sprint speed or shallow-water access.
Pros
- Lead long keel gives better directional stability than a fin keel
- Above-average ballast ratio resists heeling well
- Fiberglass hull needs minimal seasonal maintenance
- Capsize screening value would qualify her for ocean racing by formula
Cons
- Deep draft limits her to major marinas
- Long keel makes tight harbour handling harder
- Significantly underrigged for her displacement
- Comfort ratio just below average for the class
