Lightwave 395
Oyster · Carl Schumacher · 1987
Updated
The Lightwave 395 is a 12.03 m displacement racing yacht designed by Carl Schumacher and built by Oyster, first launched in 1987. It races in Class B.
Length
12.03 m
39′ 6″
Beam
3.62 m
Draft
2.15 m
Displacement
6.9 t
Sail area
81 m²
On the podium
Where a Lightwave 395 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
60%
of 10 starts by 2 boats
Wins
30%
Read from 10 starts by 2 boats between 2014 and 2023, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Lightwave 395 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
LLiga RCNT2023- Lliga Social Club de Mar Port Olimpic2014
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
—
Not enough data yet: 9 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 Lightwave 395 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Lightwave 395 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
5.38
38°
Beam reach
8.54
90°
Broad reach
9.46
135°
Downwind VMG
8.16
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.
This design is even-tempered. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is running deep in moderate air, where it outruns what it looks like on paper.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
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 Lightwave 395
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.57 | 4.80 | 5.27 | 5.38 |
| 52° | 5.44 | 6.96 | 7.44 | 7.58 |
| 60° | 5.71 | 7.18 | 7.63 | 7.80 |
| 75° | 5.90 | 7.34 | 7.88 | 8.20 |
| 90° | 5.78 | 7.38 | 7.97 | 8.54 |
| 110° | 5.69 | 7.54 | 8.24 | 8.82 |
| 120° | 5.53 | 7.45 | 8.29 | 9.24 |
| 135° | 4.96 | 7.10 | 8.09 | 9.46 |
| 150° | 4.21 | 6.40 | 7.67 | 8.93 |
| Run VMG | 3.64 | 5.55 | 6.91 | 8.16 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 470 kg.
Rigging
Lightwave 395 rig and sail dimensions
A Lightwave 395 carries 13.74 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.65 m boom, a forestay 15.79 m above the deck and a 5.28 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 92 to 104 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.