Comet 38 (Finot)
Comar · Jean-Marie Finot · 1992
Updated
The Comet 38 (Finot) is a 11.46 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Jean-Marie Finot and built by Comar, first launched in 1992. It races in Class C.
Length
11.46 m
37′ 7″
Beam
3.74 m
Draft
2.16 m
Displacement
6.8 t
Sail area
78 m²
On the podium
Where a Comet 38 (Finot) finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
22%
of 23 starts by 2 boats
Wins
9%
Read from 23 starts by 2 boats between 2023 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Comet 38 (Finot) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
4ª Golfo dei Poeti Cup2026- Lei & Lui - Tino x22026
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026- Campionato Invernale Marina di Loano2026
- Trofeo Vejo e Claudio Sampiero2024
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
31%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 7 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Comet 38 (Finot) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Swan 42 (6 meetings), Archambault 40 (6 meetings), Salona 37 (5 meetings), X-332 (5 meetings), Dehler 30 OD (5 meetings), Swan 41 (5 meetings), Oceanis 41 (5 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (6 meetings), Elan S3 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (5 meetings), Vismara 46 (5 meetings), Dufour 44 (5 meetings), Landmark 43 (5 meetings), Elan 333 (5 meetings), Elan 380 (5 meetings), Sun Fast 37 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 47 (5 meetings), First 33.7 (5 meetings), J/35 (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Comet 38 (Finot) 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
5.27
37°
Beam reach
8.12
90°
Broad reach
8.86
135°
Downwind VMG
7.53
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.
This is a light-air boat. Early-season racing and morning breezes play to its strengths; once it pipes up the fleet comes back to it.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beat once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
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 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Comet 38 (Finot)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.40 | 4.65 | 5.13 | 5.27 |
| 52° | 5.20 | 6.70 | 7.15 | 7.31 |
| 60° | 5.48 | 6.88 | 7.31 | 7.50 |
| 75° | 5.67 | 7.03 | 7.49 | 7.82 |
| 90° | 5.55 | 7.16 | 7.65 | 8.12 |
| 110° | 5.61 | 7.28 | 7.96 | 8.77 |
| 120° | 5.45 | 7.19 | 7.92 | 9.00 |
| 135° | 4.88 | 6.84 | 7.67 | 8.86 |
| 150° | 4.11 | 6.13 | 7.26 | 8.22 |
| Run VMG | 3.55 | 5.31 | 6.49 | 7.53 |
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 650 kg.
Rigging
Comet 38 (Finot) rig and sail dimensions
A Comet 38 (Finot) carries 13.57 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.62 m boom, a forestay 14.23 m above the deck and a 4.78 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 83 to 103 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.
Other designs under the same name
The name has been carried by more than one design. They are different boats.