Esse 850
Proteus Yachts · Umberto Felci · 2004
Updated
The Esse 850 is a 8.49 m planing racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Proteus Yachts, first launched in 2004. It races in Sportboat. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 99% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 99% of the boats it races against.
1st of 28 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 — 8 starts across 2 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
8.49 m
27′ 10″
Beam
2.19 m
Draft
2.00 m
Displacement
1.2 t
Sail area
46 m²
On the podium
Where a Esse 850 finishes when she goes racing.
1
Wins
1
Seconds
4
Thirds
8
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 8 starts by 2 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Esse 850 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Lei & Lui - Tino x22026
ORC Sportboat European Championship2019
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
—
Not enough data yet: 7 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 1 race over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Esse 850 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Delta 84 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (1 meeting), J/112 (1 meeting), First 40.7 (1 meeting), Comet 38 (Finot) (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Esse 850 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
4.65
41°
Beam reach
8.93
90°
Broad reach
12.24
135°
Downwind VMG
11.23
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 boat that wants breeze. 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 running deep in a strong breeze, 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
It falls short upwind 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 3.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Esse 850
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.82 | 4.59 | 4.69 | 4.65 |
| 52° | 5.76 | 6.63 | 6.81 | 6.87 |
| 60° | 6.04 | 6.89 | 7.13 | 7.26 |
| 75° | 6.21 | 7.28 | 7.69 | 7.98 |
| 90° | 6.12 | 7.52 | 8.25 | 8.93 |
| 110° | 6.23 | 7.61 | 8.55 | 10.16 |
| 120° | 6.12 | 7.90 | 9.08 | 10.75 |
| 135° | 5.55 | 7.62 | 9.81 | 12.24 |
| 150° | 4.66 | 6.75 | 8.55 | 12.97 |
| Run VMG | 4.04 | 5.86 | 7.41 | 11.23 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 300 kg.
Rigging
Esse 850 rig and sail dimensions
A Esse 850 carries 10.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.65 m boom, a forestay 10.00 m above the deck and a 4.92 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 31 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 70 to 77 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.