Dolphin 81
Maxi Dolphin · Santarelli · 1992
Updated
The Dolphin 81 is a 8.09 m planing racing yacht designed by Santarelli and built by Maxi Dolphin, first launched in 1992. It races in Sportboat.
Length
8.09 m
26′ 7″
Beam
2.70 m
Draft
1.55 m
Displacement
1.0 t
Sail area
39 m²
On the podium
Where a Dolphin 81 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
6%
of 34 starts by 3 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 34 starts by 3 boats between 2023 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Dolphin 81 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Im-Jaich-Cup2026- Miar2026
Regate di Primavera Altura2023
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
0%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Dolphin 81 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-342 (5 meetings), Seaquest 36 (4 meetings), X-332 (2 meetings), Pogo 36 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 36 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Dolphin 81 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
4.96
38°
Beam reach
9.34
90°
Broad reach
12.46
135°
Downwind VMG
9.89
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. 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 on a broad reach 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 on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
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 3.2 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Dolphin 81
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.52 | 4.69 | 4.92 | 4.96 |
| 52° | 5.38 | 6.65 | 6.96 | 7.13 |
| 60° | 5.65 | 6.87 | 7.28 | 7.53 |
| 75° | 5.83 | 7.12 | 7.82 | 8.37 |
| 90° | 5.71 | 7.17 | 8.25 | 9.34 |
| 110° | 5.78 | 7.47 | 8.45 | 10.15 |
| 120° | 5.63 | 7.48 | 8.94 | 10.79 |
| 135° | 5.05 | 7.02 | 8.90 | 12.46 |
| 150° | 4.26 | 6.32 | 7.81 | 11.41 |
| Run VMG | 3.69 | 5.51 | 6.80 | 9.89 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 420 kg.
Rigging
Dolphin 81 rig and sail dimensions
A Dolphin 81 carries 9.60 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.60 m boom, a forestay 8.77 m above the deck. 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 — 53 to 64 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.