Design and Construction
The Magic's hull and deck are solid fiberglass, and the 1,598-pound iron ballast sits in a fin with a bulb, giving a 33-percent ballast ratio against a 4,850-pound displacement. That combination, with a beam of 9.3 feet for a length-to-beam ratio of 2.84, places her firmly in the moderate-racer class: the displacement-length ratio of 187 categorizes her among moderate racers rather than light flyers or heavy cruisers. The wetted surface runs about 247 square feet, and the immersion rate of 727 pounds per inch tells you she sits lightly and responds quickly to crew and load changes. Her capsize screening value of 2.18 means she would not be accepted to participate in ocean races, a useful boundary marker for a boat of this size and intent.
Rig and Handling
Petterson gave the Magic a fractional sloop rig with a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 17.3 on the ISO reference sail, rising to 20.1 with a 135-percent genoa. The standout figure is that she carries more rig than 93% of all similar sailboats, which the record describes as significantly overrigged for her size — a trait that rewards an attentive crew in breeze but demands respect in a gust. Under power, the Volvo Penta 2001 with saildrive transmission yields a calculated maximum of about 4.2 knots, well under the 6.4-knot theoretical hull speed of a displacement hull her length. The Motion Comfort Ratio of 16.3 and a Relative Speed Performance of 85 frame her as a lively, tolerable small-boat seakeeper rather than a soft cruiser.
Accommodations
Below, the Magic is equipped with five berths, a practical count for a 26-footer aimed at weekend racing and short coastal cruising. The layout serves the boat's dual nature: enough sleep spaces for a small crew or a family night aboard, without the volume pretensions of the heavier Maxi cruisers of the prior decade.
The Verdict
The Maxi Magic is a focused Petterson design — a light, overrigged fractional sloop on a bulb fin that behaves like a moderate racer with just enough cabin to be usable. She is not an offshore boat by the numbers, but as a small coastal day racer and weekender she remains a coherent expression of early-1980s Swedish design logic.
Pros
- Significantly overrigged for her size, with 93% of similar boats carrying less sail area relative to displacement
- Light, responsive hull with a moderate-racer displacement-length ratio of 187
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck with iron fin-and-bulb keel and 33% ballast ratio
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.18 excludes her from ocean-racing acceptance
- Calculated motoring speed of only 4.2 knots under the Volvo Penta saildrive installation
- Just 26 feet overall, limiting accommodation to five berths and coastal scope
