Cookson 50
Cookson · Bruce Farr · 2004
Updated
- ORC World Championship · Class A2017
Each title was won by a boat of this design, not by the design itself.
The Cookson 50 is a 15.22 m planing racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Cookson, first launched in 2004. It races in Class 0.
Length
15.22 m
49′ 11″
Beam
4.25 m
Draft
3.51 m
Displacement
7.5 t
Sail area
162 m²
On the podium
Where a Cookson 50 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
17%
of 60 starts by 7 boats
Wins
10%
Read from 60 starts by 7 boats between 2013 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Cookson 50 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean 6002026
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2026
Rolex Middle Sea Race2025
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
9%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
24%
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 Cookson 50 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Vismara 46 (7 meetings), Corel 45 (7 meetings), Botin 52 (7 meetings), Swan 48 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Cookson 50 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
7.27
36°
Beam reach
13.09
90°
Broad reach
16.35
135°
Downwind VMG
12.95
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 does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage running deep 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 1.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Cookson 50
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.93 | 6.50 | 6.98 | 7.27 |
| 52° | 7.51 | 9.29 | 9.91 | 10.44 |
| 60° | 7.93 | 9.67 | 10.38 | 11.01 |
| 75° | 8.25 | 10.09 | 11.00 | 11.89 |
| 90° | 8.11 | 10.14 | 11.73 | 13.09 |
| 110° | 7.86 | 10.30 | 12.08 | 14.81 |
| 120° | 7.52 | 10.28 | 12.39 | 15.16 |
| 135° | 6.79 | 9.58 | 12.20 | 16.35 |
| 150° | 5.67 | 8.43 | 10.36 | 14.96 |
| Run VMG | 4.91 | 7.30 | 8.97 | 12.95 |
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 950 kg.
Rigging
Cookson 50 rig and sail dimensions
A Cookson 50 carries 20.72 m of mainsail hoist on a 7.14 m boom, a forestay 20.38 m above the deck and a 8.48 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 247 to 268 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.