Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini)
Cantiere del Pardo · Massimo Paperini · 2000
Updated
The Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) is a 12.02 m displacement racing yacht designed by Massimo Paperini and built by Cantiere del Pardo, first launched in 2000. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 22% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 22% of the boats it races against.
72nd of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 313 starts across 93 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
12.02 m
39′ 5″
Beam
3.79 m
Draft
2.38 m
Displacement
7.6 t
Sail area
89 m²
On the podium
Where a Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
14%
of 313 starts by 40 boats
Wins
5%
Read from 313 starts by 40 boats between 2011 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Round Aeolian Race 2026 - Campionato Italiano Offshore ORC2026
Aegean Regatta2026- Kypello Voreiou Aigaiou2026
- Aegean 6002026
- Οθα Cup 2026 Νοαθ2026
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
16%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
8%
of these races end on the podium
Sharper round the buoys. Short courses reward acceleration and manoeuvring, and that is where this design makes its money.
Who she races against
The designs a Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) 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
5.52
38°
Beam reach
8.70
90°
Broad reach
9.59
135°
Downwind VMG
8.17
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 one is at home going to windward. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward in a strong breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
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 Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.57 | 4.93 | 5.37 | 5.52 |
| 52° | 5.46 | 7.12 | 7.58 | 7.73 |
| 60° | 5.74 | 7.33 | 7.77 | 7.96 |
| 75° | 5.95 | 7.48 | 8.02 | 8.34 |
| 90° | 5.85 | 7.55 | 8.14 | 8.70 |
| 110° | 5.82 | 7.71 | 8.47 | 9.17 |
| 120° | 5.65 | 7.61 | 8.48 | 9.56 |
| 135° | 5.05 | 7.20 | 8.21 | 9.59 |
| 150° | 4.25 | 6.43 | 7.74 | 8.93 |
| Run VMG | 3.68 | 5.57 | 6.88 | 8.17 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 650 kg.
Rigging
Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) rig and sail dimensions
A Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) carries 14.60 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.35 m boom, a forestay 15.28 m above the deck and a 5.28 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 60 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 86 to 147 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.
Other designs under the same name
The name has been carried by more than one design. They are different boats.