Class BHeavy displacementCruiser/Racer

F&c 40

AST. F&C · German Frers · 1986

Updated

The F&c 40 is a 12.30 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by German Frers and built by AST. F&C, first launched in 1986. It races in Class B.

F&c 40 - German Frers - AST. F&CP 14.10 mLOA 12.30 m

Length

12.30 m

40′ 4″

Beam

3.82 m

Draft

2.21 m

Displacement

7.2 t

Sail area

93 m²

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

On the podium

Where a F&c 40 finishes when she goes racing.

1

Wins

0

Seconds

1

Thirds

4

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 4 starts by 1 boat between 2015 and 2016, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a F&c 40 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

  • ItalyVento de l'Alguer2016
  • ItalyVento de l'Alguer2015

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

—

Not enough data yet: 2 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

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Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a F&c 40 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Met too few times for a figure:

Salona 45 (4 meetings), Salona 37 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (4 meetings), Sun Odyssey 36 (4 meetings), Dufour 425 (3 meetings), Dufour 44 (3 meetings), Bavaria 40 (2 meetings), Dehler 41 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), First 345 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 39 (1 meeting)

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°WIND9.3

Upwind VMG

5.39

38°

Beam reach

8.46

90°

Broad reach

9.27

135°

Downwind VMG

8.05

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. In the light it does more than its numbers promise, and gives some of that back when the wind arrives.

Where it gains

Its best ground is on the beat when the breeze is soft, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.

Where it pays

It falls short on a broad reach when it blows, 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.

True wind
Upwind+0.24 kn
Beam reach+0.04 kn
Broad reach+0.01 kn
Downwind+0.07 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 F&c 40

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

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG3.714.945.275.39
52°5.637.067.407.52
60°5.917.247.587.73
75°6.087.377.818.09
90°6.037.377.908.46
110°5.747.468.118.72
120°5.587.398.169.10
135°5.017.067.969.27
150°4.266.427.588.79
Run VMG3.695.576.868.05

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail36 m² – 41 m²
Headsail37 m² – 57 m²
Spinnaker113 m² – 127 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 700 kg.

Rigging

F&c 40 rig and sail dimensions

A F&c 40 carries 14.20 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.38 m boom, a forestay 16.26 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP14.20 m14.00 – 14.34
Boom lengthE4.38 m4.25 – 4.88
Forestay heightIG16.26 m16.12 – 16.55
Fore triangle baseJ4.79 m4.76 – 4.83
Spinnaker hoistISP16.24 m16.21 – 16.48
Boom above deckBAS1.81 m1.67 – 2.09

Sails

Mainsail37.6 m²36.3 – 41.3
Headsail55.7 m²36.8 – 56.6
Spinnaker120.2 m²113.4 – 126.7

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 113 to 127 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.