Ice 52
Ice Yachts · Umberto Felci · 2018
Updated
The Ice 52 is a 15.81 m planing racing yacht designed by Umberto Felci and built by Ice Yachts, first launched in 2018. It races in Class 0.
Length
15.81 m
51′ 10″
Beam
4.65 m
Draft
2.75 m
Displacement
13.7 t
Sail area
154 m²
On the podium
Where a Ice 52 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
9%
of 22 starts by 5 boats
Wins
9%
Read from 22 starts by 5 boats between 2018 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Ice 52 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Rolex Middle Sea Race2025
Regata Brindisi-Corfù2025- 70a Regata dei Tre Golfi2025
- Regata della Grande Boa2024
- ORC European Championship2023
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
0%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
20%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a Ice 52 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Corel 45 (7 meetings), Xp 44 (6 meetings), X-41 (4 meetings), Neo 430 (4 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (3 meetings), First 40.7 (3 meetings), Cookson 50 (3 meetings), Comet 45 (3 meetings), Dufour 34 (2 meetings), First 40 (4 meetings), DK 46 (2 meetings), Farr 45 (3 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (2 meetings), Elan 333 (2 meetings), X-332 (2 meetings), TP 52 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), Pogo 36 (4 meetings), Sun Fast 3300 (Andrieu) (2 meetings), IMX 40 (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Ice 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
6.44
39°
Beam reach
10.81
90°
Broad reach
12.72
135°
Downwind VMG
9.80
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.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a reach 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 cracked off as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short on the run once it pipes up, 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.
Full width is 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a Ice 52
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.12 | 5.75 | 6.22 | 6.44 |
| 52° | 6.35 | 8.41 | 8.99 | 9.26 |
| 60° | 6.73 | 8.71 | 9.31 | 9.59 |
| 75° | 7.03 | 8.97 | 9.72 | 10.21 |
| 90° | 6.90 | 8.94 | 9.89 | 10.81 |
| 110° | 7.02 | 9.31 | 10.33 | 11.41 |
| 120° | 6.87 | 9.27 | 10.58 | 12.09 |
| 135° | 6.19 | 8.83 | 10.20 | 12.72 |
| 150° | 5.15 | 7.74 | 9.37 | 11.32 |
| Run VMG | 4.46 | 6.70 | 8.16 | 9.80 |
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 900 kg.
Rigging
Ice 52 rig and sail dimensions
A Ice 52 carries 20.70 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.90 m boom, a forestay 20.62 m above the deck and a 7.09 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 228 to 266 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.