Farr 52
Carroll Marine · Bruce Farr · 2000
Updated
The Farr 52 is a 15.84 m planing racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Carroll Marine, first launched in 2000. It races in Class 0.
Length
15.84 m
52′ 0″
Beam
4.44 m
Draft
3.25 m
Displacement
9.6 t
Sail area
166 m²
On the podium
Where a Farr 52 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
42%
of 36 starts by 5 boats
Wins
17%
Read from 36 starts by 5 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Farr 52 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
XXX Lliga Social CMPO2026
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026- XXIX Lliga Social CMPO2025
- Regata ADos2025
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2025
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
32%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 9 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Farr 52 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Farr 45 (7 meetings), Bavaria Match 42 (6 meetings), Melges 32 (6 meetings), Italia 9.98 (6 meetings), Tripp 40 (6 meetings), Bavaria Match 35 (6 meetings), X-412 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 44 (Judel/Vrolijk) (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (4 meetings), Salona 38 (4 meetings), Salona 37 (4 meetings), X-37 (4 meetings), Elliott 44 (4 meetings), IMX 38 (3 meetings), Xp 38 (3 meetings), Swan 42 (3 meetings), J/122 (3 meetings), TP 52 (Reichel/Pugh) (2 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (2 meetings), J/112 (2 meetings), Este 39 (2 meetings), First 34.7 (2 meetings), Xp 44 (4 meetings), Rodman 42 (2 meetings), Cookson 50 (1 meeting), X-50 (1 meeting), M 37 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Farr 52 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
6.93
36°
Beam reach
11.48
90°
Broad reach
14.23
135°
Downwind VMG
11.38
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 on the run when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, 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
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 downwind.
How fast is a Farr 52
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.74 | 6.22 | 6.66 | 6.93 |
| 52° | 7.21 | 8.87 | 9.28 | 9.62 |
| 60° | 7.60 | 9.15 | 9.61 | 10.02 |
| 75° | 7.90 | 9.42 | 10.12 | 10.71 |
| 90° | 7.84 | 9.49 | 10.47 | 11.48 |
| 110° | 7.61 | 9.61 | 10.94 | 12.54 |
| 120° | 7.42 | 9.70 | 11.03 | 13.47 |
| 135° | 6.72 | 9.29 | 11.06 | 14.23 |
| 150° | 5.62 | 8.27 | 9.91 | 13.14 |
| Run VMG | 4.86 | 7.16 | 8.59 | 11.38 |
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 1190 kg.
Rigging
Farr 52 rig and sail dimensions
A Farr 52 carries 21.50 m of mainsail hoist on a 7.45 m boom, a forestay 20.53 m above the deck and a 7.58 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails