Figaro 3
Updated
The Figaro 3 is a 9.75 m planing racing yacht designed by VPLP and built by Beneteau, first launched in 2017. It races in Class C.
Length
9.75 m
32′ 0″
Beam
3.45 m
Draft
2.49 m
Displacement
3.2 t
Sail area
71 m²
On the podium
Where a Figaro 3 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
5
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 5 starts by 1 boat between 2023 and 2024, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Figaro 3 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Regata dei Cinque Fari2024- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2024
- Roma per Due2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2023
- Roma per Due2023
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
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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: 5 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Figaro 3 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
Sun Fast 3200 (5 meetings), Comet 45 (3 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (2 meetings), JPK 10.10 (2 meetings), Farr 45 (2 meetings), Elan 310 (2 meetings), First 40.7 (2 meetings), IMX 40 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 34 (Skyron) (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 48 (3 meetings), J/112 (2 meetings), Solaris 55 (1 meeting), Hanse 575 (1 meeting), Azuree 33 (1 meeting), Neo 430 (1 meeting), Neo 400 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 3300 (Andrieu) (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 45.2 (1 meeting), Farr 30 (1 meeting), Solaris 36 (1 meeting), J/122 (1 meeting), Rimar 44.3 (1 meeting), X-35 (2 meetings), Este 39 (1 meeting), M 34 (1 meeting), T 34 (1 meeting), Bolt 37 (1 meeting), Millenium 45 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (1 meeting), First 50 (1 meeting), X-41 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (1 meeting), Rodman 42 (1 meeting), Elan 400 (1 meeting), First 40 (1 meeting), First 34.7 (1 meeting), Pogo 50 (1 meeting), Elan 31 (Humphreys) (1 meeting), Pierrot 9.16 (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.
Upwind VMG
5.56
37°
Beam reach
10.05
90°
Broad reach
12.84
135°
Downwind VMG
9.42
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. 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 a broad reach in a strong breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage running deep 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 2.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Figaro 3
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.81 | 5.05 | 5.40 | 5.56 |
| 52° | 5.77 | 7.18 | 7.61 | 7.90 |
| 60° | 6.11 | 7.41 | 7.94 | 8.34 |
| 75° | 6.43 | 7.71 | 8.43 | 9.14 |
| 90° | 6.45 | 7.85 | 8.94 | 10.05 |
| 110° | 6.23 | 8.05 | 9.31 | 11.16 |
| 120° | 6.13 | 8.01 | 9.62 | 12.07 |
| 135° | 5.46 | 7.59 | 9.16 | 12.84 |
| 150° | 4.59 | 6.79 | 8.19 | 10.88 |
| Run VMG | 3.98 | 5.88 | 7.09 | 9.42 |
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 460 kg.
Rigging
Figaro 3 rig and sail dimensions
A Figaro 3 carries 12.65 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.33 m boom, a forestay 12.37 m above the deck and a 5.75 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 86 to 118 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.