Italia 11.98
Italia Yachts · Matteo Polli · 2019
Updated
- ORC World Championship · Class C2019 · 2023
Each title was won by a boat of this design, not by the design itself.
The Italia 11.98 is a 11.65 m displacement racing yacht designed by Matteo Polli and built by Italia Yachts, first launched in 2019. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 85% 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 85% of the boats it races against.
15th of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 604 starts across 55 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
11.65 m
38′ 3″
Beam
3.97 m
Draft
2.12 m
Displacement
6.5 t
Sail area
88 m²
On the podium
Where a Italia 11.98 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
39%
of 604 starts by 20 boats
Wins
17%
Read from 604 starts by 20 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Italia 11.98 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Round Aeolian Race 2026 - Campionato Italiano Offshore ORC2026
Aegean Regatta2026
Klaipėda ORC European Championship2026- Aegean 6002026
- Edison Next Italian Offshore Sailing Championship - Campionato Italiano Assoluto d’Altura2026
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
37%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
35%
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 Italia 11.98 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Italia 11.98 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
5.45
40°
Beam reach
8.92
90°
Broad reach
10.50
135°
Downwind VMG
8.17
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.
Reaching and running is where this one pays. A course with long free legs suits it better than a windward-leeward.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach once it pipes up, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
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 broad reach.
How fast is a Italia 11.98
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.63 | 4.92 | 5.33 | 5.45 |
| 52° | 5.57 | 7.16 | 7.61 | 7.79 |
| 60° | 5.88 | 7.38 | 7.84 | 8.06 |
| 75° | 6.10 | 7.54 | 8.11 | 8.52 |
| 90° | 6.08 | 7.71 | 8.26 | 8.92 |
| 110° | 6.24 | 7.97 | 8.74 | 9.58 |
| 120° | 6.13 | 7.93 | 8.91 | 10.03 |
| 135° | 5.48 | 7.60 | 8.63 | 10.50 |
| 150° | 4.62 | 6.84 | 8.02 | 9.38 |
| Run VMG | 4.00 | 5.92 | 7.04 | 8.17 |
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 730 kg.
Rigging
Italia 11.98 rig and sail dimensions
A Italia 11.98 carries 14.60 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.39 m boom, a forestay 14.95 m above the deck and a 6.22 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 27 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 134 to 155 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.