Golden Shamrock
SOUTH COAST BOATY. · Ron Holland · 1975
Updated
The Golden Shamrock is a 9.05 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Ron Holland and built by SOUTH COAST BOATY., first launched in 1975. It races in Class C.
Length
9.05 m
29′ 8″
Beam
3.10 m
Draft
1.66 m
Displacement
3.3 t
Sail area
48 m²
On the podium
Where a Golden Shamrock finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
2
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 2 boats between 2023 and 2024, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Golden Shamrock was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Liga Interclubes Bahía de Huelva2024- Regata William Martin2024
- Regata de los Descubridores2024
- Regata William Martin2023
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: 4 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Golden Shamrock actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
Furia 25 (5 meetings), Fortuna 9 (5 meetings), Sun Odyssey 26 (3 meetings), First 31.7 (4 meetings), X-332 (3 meetings), J/80 (4 meetings), Platu 25 (3 meetings), Yatlant 24 (1 meeting), Rush 31 (1 meeting), Dufour 2800 (1 meeting), First 27 (Mauric) (1 meeting), Salona 45 (1 meeting), X-43 (1 meeting), Sun Shine 38 (1 meeting), First 32 (1 meeting), First 35 (Berret) (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
4.46
39°
Beam reach
7.12
90°
Broad reach
7.69
135°
Downwind VMG
6.85
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.
Soft conditions suit it. 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 to windward when the breeze is soft, where it outruns what it looks like on paper.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach in a strong breeze, 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.
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 Golden Shamrock
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.05 | 4.08 | 4.44 | 4.46 |
| 52° | 4.62 | 5.87 | 6.23 | 6.31 |
| 60° | 4.84 | 6.01 | 6.38 | 6.50 |
| 75° | 4.98 | 6.13 | 6.55 | 6.83 |
| 90° | 4.88 | 6.18 | 6.62 | 7.12 |
| 110° | 4.82 | 6.28 | 6.88 | 7.45 |
| 120° | 4.66 | 6.21 | 6.87 | 7.71 |
| 135° | 4.24 | 5.96 | 6.71 | 7.69 |
| 150° | 3.66 | 5.49 | 6.44 | 7.38 |
| Run VMG | 3.17 | 4.78 | 5.91 | 6.85 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 390 kg.
Rigging
Golden Shamrock rig and sail dimensions
A Golden Shamrock carries 10.05 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.00 m boom, a forestay 11.70 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 53 to 63 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.