Sun Fast 17

The Sun Fast 17 is a French trailerable sailboat that was designed by Jacek Centkowski as a cruiser and first built in 1994.

The boat is part of the Sun Fast sailboat range and was developed into the Balt 17.

Production
The design was built by Jeanneau in France, from 1994 to 1999, with about 300 boats completed, but it is now out of production.

Design
The Sun Fast 17 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a 3/4 fractional sloop rig, with a keel-stepped mast, a single set of swept spreaders and aluminum spars with continuous stainless steel wire rigging. The hull has a slightly raked stem, a walk-through reverse transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a retractable centerboard. It displaces 1323 lb and carries 276 lb of cast iron ballast.

The boat has a draft of 3.28 ft with the centerboard extended and 0.82 ft with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water, beaching or ground transportation on a trailer.

The boat is normally fitted with a small 4 hp outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.

The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settees in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a double berth on the port side. Cabin headroom is 52 in.

For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a asymmetrical spinnaker of 161 sqft flown from a retractable bowsprit.

The design has a hull speed of 5.21 kn.

Operational history
The boat was at one time supported by a class club that organized racing events, the Sun Fast Association.