Class 0PlaningPerformance

Andrews 56

DENCHO · Alan Andrews · 1992

Updated

The Andrews 56 is a 17.10 m planing racing yacht designed by Alan Andrews and built by DENCHO, first launched in 1992. It races in Class 0.

Andrews 56 - Alan Andrews - DENCHOP 17.93 mLOA 17.10 m

Length

17.10 m

56′ 1″

Beam

4.39 m

Draft

3.05 m

Displacement

10.2 t

Sail area

158 m²

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

On the podium

Where a Andrews 56 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 Andrews 56 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 Andrews 56 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°WIND12.8

Upwind VMG

6.71

37°

Beam reach

10.79

90°

Broad reach

12.81

135°

Downwind VMG

10.19

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 is an upwind boat first. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.

Where it gains

Its best ground is across the wind when the breeze is soft, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage upwind 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+0.30 kn
Beam reach+0.26 kn
Broad reach+0.08 kn
Downwind+0.01 kn

Full width is 0.4 kn either way.

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

How fast is a Andrews 56

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

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG4.596.056.476.71
52°7.028.719.099.30
60°7.428.989.369.62
75°7.709.229.7610.19
90°7.559.2510.0710.79
110°6.949.2510.3711.52
120°6.729.2210.5412.28
135°6.018.7710.2512.81
150°5.037.709.4311.71
Run VMG4.366.678.2810.19

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail73 m² – 75 m²
Headsail81 m² – 88 m²
Gennaker162 m² – 211 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 1020 kg.

Rigging

Andrews 56 rig and sail dimensions

A Andrews 56 carries 18.31 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.67 m boom, a forestay 20.09 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP18.31 m17.93 – 18.69
Boom lengthE6.67 m6.64 – 6.69
Forestay heightIG20.09 m20.08 – 20.10
Fore triangle baseJ5.79 m5.72 – 5.87
Spinnaker hoistISP20.61 m20.24 – 20.98
Boom above deckBAS1.98 m1.97 – 2.00

Sails

Mainsail73.8 m²72.6 – 74.9
Headsail84.6 m²81.4 – 87.8
Gennaker186.9 m²162.4 – 211.4

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 162 to 211 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.