Farr 30
Ovington · Bruce Farr · 1996
Updated
The Farr 30 is a 9.44 m planing racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Ovington, first launched in 1996. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 97% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 97% of the boats it races against.
5th of 159 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 — 543 starts across 89 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
9.44 m
31′ 0″
Beam
3.04 m
Draft
2.13 m
Displacement
2.2 t
Sail area
56 m²
On the podium
Where a Farr 30 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
18%
of 543 starts by 41 boats
Wins
7%
Read from 543 starts by 41 boats between 2012 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Farr 30 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
National Championship for Keel Boats2026
Round Aeolian Race 2026 - Campionato Italiano Offshore ORC2026
Lliga Creuers2026- Regatta Sozopol Sailing Cup2026
- 4ª Golfo dei Poeti Cup2026
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
18%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
19%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Farr 30 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Farr 30 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
5.30
37°
Beam reach
8.96
90°
Broad reach
11.63
135°
Downwind VMG
9.51
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. 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 on the run when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, 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 to windward in a strong breeze, 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 1.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the downwind.
How fast is a Farr 30
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.86 | 4.96 | 5.20 | 5.30 |
| 52° | 5.80 | 6.93 | 7.20 | 7.38 |
| 60° | 6.08 | 7.12 | 7.45 | 7.69 |
| 75° | 6.26 | 7.32 | 7.84 | 8.26 |
| 90° | 6.17 | 7.36 | 8.15 | 8.96 |
| 110° | 6.26 | 7.65 | 8.43 | 9.69 |
| 120° | 6.12 | 7.69 | 8.83 | 10.26 |
| 135° | 5.50 | 7.36 | 8.87 | 11.63 |
| 150° | 4.64 | 6.74 | 8.00 | 10.98 |
| Run VMG | 4.02 | 5.87 | 7.05 | 9.51 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 540 kg.
Rigging
Farr 30 rig and sail dimensions
A Farr 30 carries 12.36 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.44 m boom, a forestay 11.64 m above the deck and a 4.52 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 69 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 67 to 111 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.