Design and Construction
Both hull and deck are solid fiberglass, and the boat has been built with different keel alternatives, the keel itself being iron. The Scampi 30 Mk III is listed at a displacement-length ratio of 272, which places her among the "heavy cruisers" of her size band; only 42% of similar designs are heavier. Against that mass, her ballast ratio runs 47%, a figure higher than 85% of comparable sailboats, on a 7,275-pound displacement. With a beam of 9 feet 10 inches on a length-to-beam ratio of 3.02, she is more spacious than 58% of similar designs, and her wetted surface measures about 25 square metres.
Rig and Handling
The Scampi 30 Mk III has more than one rig, offered in both fractional and masthead sloop configurations. The masthead setup carries 25.6-metre halyards of 10 mm diameter for mainsail, jib/genoa, and spinnaker, with 9.1-metre jib and genoa sheets and a 22.7-metre mainsheet, all 12 mm. The fractional rig uses 9.1-metre, 12 mm sheets for jib and genoa and a 22.7-metre mainsheet of the same diameter, with a 20-metre spinnaker sheet. Her sail area is 374 square feet on a masthead sloop rig. The capsize screening value is 2.01, which by the standard test would bar her from ocean races, and the Motion Comfort Ratio falls between 21.2 and 21.9, making her more comfortable than 42% of similar designs.
Performance Profile
The theoretical maximum hull speed is 6.4 knots, while a Yanmar-equipped example with saildrive is calculated at about 4.5 knots maximum under power. On the sail-performance side, her Relative Speed Performance of 58 means she is faster than 58% of similar sailboats. The immersion rate is about 140 kg per centimetre, or 787 pounds per inch, a useful number for load planning. With a 22-foot-11-inch waterline she shows a practical cruising envelope rather than a racing one.
Known Issues
The boat has also been sold to be home-completed, which means the quality of each individual boat may vary considerably from one example to the next. This variability bears directly on any survey or purchase decision.
The Verdict
The Scampi 30 Mk III is a Norlin-designed, Swedish-built fiberglass cruiser with a genuinely heavy-displacement hull and an unusually high ballast fraction for her length. She is a moderately comfortable, moderately quick coastal cruiser whose capsize screening would exclude her from offshore racing fleets but whose build and proportions suit settled-water cruising. The home-completion history means condition is boat-specific.
Pros
- High 47% ballast ratio, exceeding 85% of similar designs
- More spacious than 58% of comparable boats by length-to-beam ratio
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck with iron keel alternatives
- Faster under sail than 58% of similar designs by relative speed measure
Cons
- Capsize screening value of 2.01 excludes ocean-race acceptance
- Home-completed boats introduce variable quality between examples
- Comfort ratio beats only 42% of similar designs
