IMX 45
X-Yachts · Niels Jeppesen · 2002
Updated
The IMX 45 is a 13.73 m displacement racing yacht designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts, first launched in 2002. It races in Class A. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 53% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 53% of the boats it races against.
22nd of 46 in its class.
Updated — First Race Edge for this design. Enough boats of this design have now been measured to rank it. It is strongest in light air.
This design has been found in real race results — 66 starts across 15 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
13.73 m
45′ 1″
Beam
4.13 m
Draft
2.75 m
Displacement
9.6 t
Sail area
115 m²
On the podium
Where a IMX 45 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
3%
of 66 starts by 6 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 66 starts by 6 boats between 2014 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a IMX 45 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
ORC European Championship 2025 / 43rd Copa del Rey MAPFRE2025
Edison Next Italian Offshore Sailing Championship - Campionato Italiano Assoluto d’Altura2025- 70a Regata dei Tre Golfi2025
- 3G2024
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
2%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
6%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a IMX 45 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the IMX 45 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
5.88
38°
Beam reach
9.34
90°
Broad reach
10.91
135°
Downwind VMG
8.89
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 the beat in the light stuff, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, 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 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a IMX 45
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.00 | 5.38 | 5.74 | 5.88 |
| 52° | 6.04 | 7.71 | 8.08 | 8.25 |
| 60° | 6.35 | 7.92 | 8.30 | 8.50 |
| 75° | 6.58 | 8.08 | 8.61 | 8.92 |
| 90° | 6.52 | 8.11 | 8.76 | 9.34 |
| 110° | 6.56 | 8.41 | 9.12 | 9.86 |
| 120° | 6.40 | 8.36 | 9.34 | 10.36 |
| 135° | 5.77 | 7.97 | 9.07 | 10.91 |
| 150° | 4.84 | 7.16 | 8.45 | 9.89 |
| Run VMG | 4.19 | 6.20 | 7.47 | 8.89 |
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 850 kg.
Rigging
IMX 45 rig and sail dimensions
A IMX 45 carries 17.91 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.10 m boom, a forestay 18.79 m above the deck and a 6.24 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 8 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 145 to 180 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.