Class CPlaningPerformance

Henderson 30

SOCA · Glenn Henderson · 1997

Updated

The Henderson 30 is a 9.39 m planing racing yacht designed by Glenn Henderson and built by SOCA, first launched in 1997. It races in Class C.

Henderson 30 - Glenn Henderson - SOCAP 11.73 mLOA 9.39 m

Length

9.39 m

30′ 10″

Beam

2.99 m

Draft

2.13 m

Displacement

1.8 t

Sail area

59 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

On the podium

Where a Henderson 30 finishes when she goes racing.

Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Henderson 30 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

No regattas found yet.

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

Round 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: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a Henderson 30 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

3691230°60°90°120°150°WIND12.9

Upwind VMG

5.51

35°

Beam reach

9.55

90°

Broad reach

12.88

135°

Downwind VMG

10.65

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. 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 downwind once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage off the wind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.

Where it pays

It falls short upwind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.

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.

True wind
Upwind+0.13 kn
Beam reach-0.13 kn
Broad reach+0.15 kn
Downwind+0.17 kn

Full width is 2.6 kn either way.

At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the downwind.

How fast is a Henderson 30

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG4.065.155.415.51
52°6.097.137.467.69
60°6.357.327.758.03
75°6.517.578.208.70
90°6.407.618.559.55
110°6.457.988.9310.41
120°6.348.069.4411.28
135°5.717.679.5512.88
150°4.826.898.3412.30
Run VMG4.175.997.2210.65

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail31 m² – 35 m²
Headsail18 m² – 28 m²
Gennaker94 m² – 102 m²

Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 570 kg.

Rigging

Henderson 30 rig and sail dimensions

A Henderson 30 carries 11.73 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.39 m boom, a forestay 11.31 m above the deck and a 5.41 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP11.73 m11.63 – 11.77
Boom lengthE4.39 m4.38 – 4.40
Forestay heightIG11.31 m11.19 – 11.31
Fore triangle baseJ3.35 m3.33 – 3.37
Spinnaker hoistISP12.88 m12.86 – 12.89
BowspritTPS5.41 m5.29 – 6.20
Boom above deckBAS1.26 m1.23 – 1.26

Sails

Mainsail32.6 m²31.4 – 34.8
Headsail26.7 m²17.9 – 28.4
Gennaker96.9 m²93.5 – 101.7

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 94 to 102 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.