Match 42
AST. SPEEDCRAFT · German Frers · 1995
Updated
The Match 42 is a 12.64 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by German Frers and built by AST. SPEEDCRAFT, first launched in 1995. It races in Class B.
Length
12.64 m
41′ 6″
Beam
3.55 m
Draft
2.09 m
Displacement
5.9 t
Sail area
91 m²
On the podium
Where a Match 42 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
2
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 2 starts by 1 boat between 2021, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Match 42 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
blueribboncup2021
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
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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 Match 42 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
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
5.81
38°
Beam reach
9.55
90°
Broad reach
11.66
135°
Downwind VMG
9.11
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 is a boat that wants breeze. 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 on a broad 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 on the run 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 1.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Match 42
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.05 | 5.33 | 5.67 | 5.81 |
| 52° | 6.19 | 7.69 | 7.99 | 8.17 |
| 60° | 6.51 | 7.92 | 8.23 | 8.46 |
| 75° | 6.72 | 8.11 | 8.61 | 8.99 |
| 90° | 6.57 | 8.11 | 8.86 | 9.55 |
| 110° | 6.33 | 8.27 | 9.07 | 10.00 |
| 120° | 6.16 | 8.23 | 9.38 | 10.70 |
| 135° | 5.48 | 7.83 | 9.11 | 11.66 |
| 150° | 4.60 | 6.98 | 8.39 | 10.44 |
| Run VMG | 3.98 | 6.04 | 7.43 | 9.11 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 730 kg.
Rigging
Match 42 rig and sail dimensions
A Match 42 carries 14.79 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.50 m boom, a forestay 15.71 m above the deck and a 5.86 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 130 to 142 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.