Bolt 37
CSC COMPOSITES · Jason Ker · 2013
Updated
The Bolt 37 is a 10.97 m planing racing yacht designed by Jason Ker and built by CSC COMPOSITES, first launched in 2013. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 96% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 96% of the boats it races against.
5th of 92 in its class.
Not verified. On planing hulls this score has no match in the race results we hold: designs scoring the same win anywhere from one race in ten to seven in ten. Read it as what the measurements say, not as a ranking.
This design has been found in real race results — 63 starts across 18 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
10.97 m
36′ 0″
Beam
3.46 m
Draft
2.59 m
Displacement
3.7 t
Sail area
83 m²
On the podium
Where a Bolt 37 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
19%
of 63 starts by 4 boats
Wins
2%
Read from 63 starts by 4 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Bolt 37 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Edison Next Italian Offshore Sailing Championship - Campionato Italiano Assoluto d’Altura2026- Trofeo Gavitello d'Argento2026
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
- Coppa Regina dei Paesi Bassi2026
The Presidential 7th International Yacht Races Çanakkale Cup2026
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound 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
12%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
21%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a Bolt 37 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Bolt 37 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
6.04
35°
Beam reach
10.23
90°
Broad reach
13.34
135°
Downwind VMG
10.62
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is downwind once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage off the wind 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.
Full width is 2.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Bolt 37
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.21 | 5.53 | 5.86 | 6.04 |
| 52° | 6.34 | 7.73 | 8.08 | 8.36 |
| 60° | 6.65 | 7.92 | 8.38 | 8.72 |
| 75° | 6.85 | 8.10 | 8.82 | 9.43 |
| 90° | 6.82 | 8.18 | 9.03 | 10.23 |
| 110° | 6.88 | 8.52 | 9.50 | 10.90 |
| 120° | 6.74 | 8.55 | 9.94 | 11.88 |
| 135° | 6.07 | 8.20 | 9.88 | 13.34 |
| 150° | 5.08 | 7.37 | 8.82 | 12.27 |
| Run VMG | 4.40 | 6.38 | 7.64 | 10.62 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 710 kg.
Rigging
Bolt 37 rig and sail dimensions
A Bolt 37 carries 15.25 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.75 m boom, a forestay 14.70 m above the deck and a 5.86 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 143 to 160 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.