Class BSemi-displacementCruiser/Racer

JPK 38

JPK Composites · Jacques Valer · 2010

Updated

The JPK 38 is a 11.40 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Jacques Valer and built by JPK Composites, first launched in 2010. It races in Class B.

JPK 38 - Jacques Valer - JPK CompositesP 14.55 mLOA 11.40 m

Length

11.40 m

37′ 5″

Beam

3.99 m

Draft

2.70 m

Displacement

5.3 t

Sail area

77 m²

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

On the podium

Where a JPK 38 finishes when she goes racing.

On the podium

0%

of 12 starts by 1 boat

Wins

0%

Wins0%0
Seconds0%0
Thirds0%0
Off the podium100%12

Read from 12 starts by 1 boat between 2026, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a JPK 38 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

  • GermanyNordstadtwerke-Cup2026
  • GermanyIm-Jaich-Cup2026
  • GermanyMiar2026

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 JPK 38 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

This design aheadRival ahead
Dehler 298%ahead in 1 of 12 meetings, 12 races
First 36.78%ahead in 1 of 12 meetings, 12 races
J/1098%ahead in 1 of 12 meetings, 11 races
Archambault 3512%ahead in 2 of 16 meetings, 10 racesalmost always behind
Dolphin 8110%ahead in 1 of 10 meetings, 10 races
Sp44%ahead in 4 of 9 meetings, 9 races
First 35 (Berret)22%ahead in 2 of 9 meetings, 9 races
First 31.756%ahead in 5 of 9 meetings, 9 races
Hanse 29150%ahead in 4 of 8 meetings, 8 races

Also met, too few times for a figure:

Comfortina 35 (7 meetings), X-362 (6 meetings), Seaquest 36 (5 meetings), X-332 (3 meetings), X-342 (2 meetings), Pogo 36 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 36 (1 meeting)

Some of the boats it races against

How the JPK 38 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.

JPK 38 vs Archambault 35ahead 12% of 16 head-to-heads
JPK 38 vs Dehler 29ahead 8% of 12 head-to-heads
JPK 38 vs First 36.7ahead 8% of 12 head-to-heads
JPK 38 vs J/109ahead 8% of 12 head-to-heads
JPK 38 vs Dolphin 81ahead 10% of 10 head-to-heads

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°WIND11.1

Upwind VMG

5.78

37°

Beam reach

9.28

90°

Broad reach

11.05

135°

Downwind VMG

8.36

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 off the wind 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 on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.

Where it pays

It falls short upwind in light air, giving away time it never gets back.

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+0.01 kn
Beam reach+0.18 kn
Broad reach+0.15 kn
Downwind+0.08 kn

Full width is 1.0 kn either way.

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

How fast is a JPK 38

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

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG3.524.965.585.78
52°5.447.237.788.10
60°5.767.458.028.37
75°5.977.608.308.78
90°5.927.818.479.28
110°6.078.028.9710.22
120°5.927.939.1111.02
135°5.317.538.7211.05
150°4.466.708.019.66
Run VMG3.865.816.988.36

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail40 m² – 41 m²
Headsail35 m² – 39 m²
Gennaker119 m² – 145 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 620 kg.

Rigging

JPK 38 rig and sail dimensions

A JPK 38 carries 14.55 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.95 m boom, a forestay 15.15 m above the deck and a 5.90 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP14.55 m14.13 – 14.55
Boom lengthE4.95 m4.80 – 4.95
Forestay heightIG15.15 m15.15 – 15.15
Fore triangle baseJ4.70 m4.70 – 4.86
Spinnaker hoistISP15.80 m15.80 – 15.80
BowspritTPS5.90 m5.90 – 6.05
Boom above deckBAS1.65 m1.65 – 1.78

Sails

Mainsail39.9 m²39.5 – 40.9
Headsail36.9 m²34.6 – 38.5
Gennaker121.4 m²118.7 – 144.7

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 119 to 145 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.