Farr 45
Carroll Marine · Bruce Farr · 1996
Updated
The Farr 45 is a 13.80 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Carroll Marine, first launched in 1996. It races in Class A.
Length
13.80 m
45′ 3″
Beam
4.19 m
Draft
2.91 m
Displacement
7.4 t
Sail area
121 m²
On the podium
Where a Farr 45 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
19%
of 96 starts by 6 boats
Wins
9%
Read from 96 starts by 6 boats between 2020 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Farr 45 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Round Aeolian Race 2026 - Campionato Italiano Offshore ORC2026
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026- Trofeo Rotta dei Florio2026
Kornati Cup2026
Rolex Middle Sea Race2025
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
21%
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 45 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-362 (7 meetings), Hanse 370 (7 meetings), Hallberg Rassy 26 (7 meetings), DB 2 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Farr 45 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
6.32
36°
Beam reach
10.39
90°
Broad reach
12.73
135°
Downwind VMG
10.07
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. 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 off the wind once it pipes up, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 0.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Farr 45
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.34 | 5.74 | 6.12 | 6.32 |
| 52° | 6.56 | 8.16 | 8.55 | 8.80 |
| 60° | 6.89 | 8.37 | 8.83 | 9.16 |
| 75° | 7.11 | 8.54 | 9.25 | 9.76 |
| 90° | 7.05 | 8.60 | 9.47 | 10.39 |
| 110° | 7.00 | 8.88 | 9.95 | 11.27 |
| 120° | 6.77 | 8.86 | 10.21 | 12.11 |
| 135° | 6.07 | 8.46 | 9.93 | 12.73 |
| 150° | 5.10 | 7.58 | 9.05 | 11.62 |
| Run VMG | 4.41 | 6.57 | 7.87 | 10.07 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 900 kg.
Rigging
Farr 45 rig and sail dimensions
A Farr 45 carries 18.40 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.60 m boom, a forestay 17.96 m above the deck and a 6.78 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 155 to 213 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.