Grand Soleil 52
Cantiere del Pardo · Marco Lostuzzi · 2017
Updated
The Grand Soleil 52 is a 16.09 m displacement racing yacht designed by Marco Lostuzzi and built by Cantiere del Pardo, first launched in 2017. It races in Class A.
Length
16.09 m
52′ 9″
Beam
4.88 m
Draft
2.68 m
Displacement
17.6 t
Sail area
143 m²
On the podium
Where a Grand Soleil 52 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
29%
of 14 starts by 3 boats
Wins
21%
Read from 14 starts by 3 boats between 2020 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Grand Soleil 52 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026- REGATA DELLA GALLINARA - Trofeo della Cappelletta2025
- Vento de l'Alguer2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2023
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: 6 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 8 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Grand Soleil 52 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Canados 33 (7 meetings), First 38 (5 meetings), Hanse 385 (4 meetings), Hanse 370 (4 meetings), Oceanis 331 (4 meetings), Elan 33 (4 meetings), J/24 (3 meetings), Elan 450 (3 meetings), Advanced A 44 (3 meetings), Comet 45 (3 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (4 meetings), First 40.7 (5 meetings), First 36.7 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (4 meetings), Show 29 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 36 (2 meetings), Dehler 34 (Stadt) (2 meetings), First 34.7 (3 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (3 meetings), Sinergia 40 (2 meetings), J/109 (3 meetings), Solaris 44 (2 meetings), Swan 42 (2 meetings), Marten 49 (2 meetings), X-43 (2 meetings), X-332 (2 meetings), Archambault 40 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 47 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 34 (Skyron) (2 meetings), First 44.7 (2 meetings), Dufour 44 (2 meetings), First 47.7 (2 meetings), Xp 44 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Grand Soleil 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
6.42
39°
Beam reach
10.15
90°
Broad reach
11.28
135°
Downwind VMG
8.98
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 does most things without giving much away. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is across the wind in moderate air, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short running deep when it blows, 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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Grand Soleil 52
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.64 | 5.27 | 6.06 | 6.42 |
| 52° | 5.65 | 7.82 | 8.77 | 9.20 |
| 60° | 6.03 | 8.13 | 9.01 | 9.51 |
| 75° | 6.30 | 8.37 | 9.21 | 9.96 |
| 90° | 6.53 | 8.71 | 9.48 | 10.15 |
| 110° | 6.53 | 8.93 | 9.99 | 11.07 |
| 120° | 6.41 | 8.83 | 9.94 | 11.59 |
| 135° | 5.69 | 8.33 | 9.56 | 11.28 |
| 150° | 4.75 | 7.28 | 8.91 | 10.24 |
| Run VMG | 4.12 | 6.31 | 7.75 | 8.98 |
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 650 kg.
Rigging
Grand Soleil 52 rig and sail dimensions
A Grand Soleil 52 carries 19.20 m of mainsail hoist on a 7.08 m boom, a forestay 20.21 m above the deck and a 7.28 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 215 to 280 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.