Class BDisplacementPerformance

Express 37

ALSBERG · Carl Schumacher · 1984

Updated

The Express 37 is a 11.30 m displacement racing yacht designed by Carl Schumacher and built by ALSBERG, first launched in 1984. It races in Class B.

Express 37 - Carl Schumacher - ALSBERGP 12.89 mLOA 11.30 m

Length

11.30 m

37′ 1″

Beam

3.52 m

Draft

2.22 m

Displacement

4.9 t

Sail area

81 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

On the podium

Where a Express 37 finishes when she goes racing.

Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Express 37 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

No regattas found yet.

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

Round 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

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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a Express 37 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

36930°60°90°120°150°WIND10.0

Upwind VMG

5.47

37°

Beam reach

8.46

90°

Broad reach

10.04

135°

Downwind VMG

7.97

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.

There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.

Where it gains

Its best ground is cracked off once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage upwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.

Where it pays

It falls short on the beam in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.

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.

True wind
Upwind+0.28 kn
Beam reach-0.01 kn
Broad reach+0.01 kn
Downwind+0.00 kn

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 Express 37

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG3.755.055.385.47
52°5.667.097.397.50
60°5.937.247.567.70
75°6.107.357.808.06
90°5.967.347.928.46
110°5.897.588.329.16
120°5.747.508.419.78
135°5.127.158.0910.04
150°4.326.437.598.98
Run VMG3.745.576.707.97

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail32 m² – 33 m²
Headsail46 m² – 51 m²
Gennaker92 m² – 116 m²
Spinnaker96 m² – 101 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 650 kg.

Rigging

Express 37 rig and sail dimensions

A Express 37 carries 12.89 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.19 m boom, a forestay 14.86 m above the deck and a 5.23 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP12.89 m12.80 – 12.89
Boom lengthE4.19 m4.19 – 4.20
Forestay heightIG14.86 m14.82 – 14.92
Fore triangle baseJ4.35 m4.35 – 4.36
Spinnaker hoistISP14.90 m14.90 – 14.92
BowspritTPS5.23 m4.40 – 5.88
Boom above deckBAS1.75 m1.74 – 1.76

Sails

Mainsail32.9 m²32.4 – 33.4
Headsail48.0 m²45.5 – 50.7
Gennaker103.7 m²91.6 – 116.4
Spinnaker95.7 m²95.5 – 100.9

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 92 to 116 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.