Class BSemi-displacementCruiser/Racer

Aerodyne 38

Aerodyne Yachts · Rodger Martin · 2000

Updated

The Aerodyne 38 is a 11.47 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Rodger Martin and built by Aerodyne Yachts, first launched in 2000. It races in Class B.

Aerodyne 38 - Rodger Martin - Aerodyne YachtsP 15.77 mLOA 11.47 m

Length

11.47 m

37′ 8″

Beam

3.99 m

Draft

2.39 m

Displacement

5.3 t

Sail area

90 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

On the podium

Where a Aerodyne 38 finishes when she goes racing.

Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Aerodyne 38 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

No regattas found yet.

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

Round the buoys, or offshore

A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.

Round the buoys

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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a Aerodyne 38 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

3691230°60°90°120°150°WIND12.0

Upwind VMG

5.73

38°

Beam reach

9.45

90°

Broad reach

11.96

135°

Downwind VMG

9.15

170°

Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.

Where it wins and where it pays

Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.

It needs pressure to show what it can do. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.

Where it gains

Its best ground is cracked off when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.

Where it pays

There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.

Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.

True wind
Upwind+0.08 kn
Beam reach+0.13 kn
Broad reach+0.23 kn
Downwind+0.23 kn

Full width is 1.6 kn either way.

At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.

How fast is a Aerodyne 38

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG3.805.205.585.73
52°5.807.437.828.02
60°6.117.628.078.34
75°6.307.778.438.88
90°6.477.968.599.45
110°6.518.259.1510.21
120°6.418.259.4510.96
135°5.757.919.2211.96
150°4.847.128.4210.57
Run VMG4.196.167.319.15

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail49 m² – 55 m²
Headsail35 m² – 38 m²
Gennaker155 m² – 173 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 790 kg.

Rigging

Aerodyne 38 rig and sail dimensions

A Aerodyne 38 carries 15.77 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.02 m boom, a forestay 15.51 m above the deck and a 6.60 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP15.77 m15.50 – 15.77
Boom lengthE5.02 m4.89 – 5.03
Forestay heightIG15.51 m15.32 – 15.53
Fore triangle baseJ4.47 m4.42 – 4.50
Spinnaker hoistISP17.45 m17.34 – 17.49
BowspritTPS6.60 m6.56 – 6.82
Boom above deckBAS1.47 m1.45 – 1.50

Sails

Mainsail53.1 m²48.5 – 54.5
Headsail36.9 m²35.4 – 37.7
Gennaker171.7 m²155.4 – 173.1

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 155 to 173 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.