H-boat
Botnia · Hans Groop · 1967
Updated
The H-boat is a 8.31 m displacement racing yacht designed by Hans Groop and built by Botnia, first launched in 1967. It races in Sportboat. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 15% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 15% of the boats it races against.
24th of 28 in its class.
Updated — First Race Edge for this design. Enough boats of this design have now been measured to rank it.
This design has been found in real race results — 9 starts across 2 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
8.31 m
27′ 3″
Beam
2.19 m
Draft
1.27 m
Displacement
1.5 t
Sail area
26 m²
On the podium
Where a H-boat finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
9
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 9 starts by 1 boat between 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a H-boat was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Campionato Italiano Minialtura2025- Campionato Velico del Lario ORC2025
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
—
Not enough data yet: 9 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a H-boat actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Rivetto (5 meetings), First 24 (Manuard) (5 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the H-boat 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
4.29
39°
Beam reach
7.06
90°
Broad reach
8.04
135°
Downwind VMG
6.79
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is cracked off once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, 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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a H-boat
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.75 | 3.81 | 4.20 | 4.29 |
| 52° | 4.20 | 5.53 | 5.93 | 6.06 |
| 60° | 4.43 | 5.70 | 6.10 | 6.27 |
| 75° | 4.56 | 5.84 | 6.31 | 6.66 |
| 90° | 4.74 | 6.04 | 6.43 | 7.06 |
| 110° | 4.75 | 6.12 | 6.84 | 7.55 |
| 120° | 4.56 | 6.03 | 6.83 | 8.02 |
| 135° | 4.05 | 5.76 | 6.57 | 8.04 |
| 150° | 3.46 | 5.25 | 6.24 | 7.46 |
| Run VMG | 3.00 | 4.58 | 5.73 | 6.79 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 300 kg.
Rigging
H-boat rig and sail dimensions
A H-boat carries 8.70 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.00 m boom, a forestay 7.94 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 14 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 30 to 36 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.