Nek 26
NEK DESIGN · E.G. van de Stadt · 1986
Updated
The Nek 26 is a 8.00 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by E.G. van de Stadt and built by NEK DESIGN, first launched in 1986. It races in Class C.
Length
8.00 m
26′ 3″
Beam
2.82 m
Draft
1.55 m
Displacement
2.5 t
Sail area
39 m²
On the podium
Where a Nek 26 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
38%
of 37 starts by 2 boats
Wins
14%
Read from 37 starts by 2 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Nek 26 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
43ος Ιστιοπλοικος Αγωνας Κορφος ΄262026- "Νικολαος Σαρικαβαζης 2026"2026
- ¨16ο Athens Trophy 2026¨2026
- AHEPA Cup Perama2026
- "Κυπελλο Χριστουγεννων"2025
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: 1 race of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
32%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Nek 26 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Grand Soleil 39 (Jézéquel) (7 meetings), Sun Shine 36 (7 meetings), Catalina 320 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Nek 26 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
4.42
39°
Beam reach
7.02
90°
Broad reach
7.47
135°
Downwind VMG
6.64
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.
It is an upwind boat first. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is upwind in a working breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
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 Nek 26
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.87 | 3.88 | 4.35 | 4.42 |
| 52° | 4.39 | 5.63 | 6.04 | 6.19 |
| 60° | 4.62 | 5.79 | 6.18 | 6.37 |
| 75° | 4.78 | 5.91 | 6.33 | 6.71 |
| 90° | 4.73 | 6.05 | 6.53 | 7.02 |
| 110° | 4.74 | 6.08 | 6.71 | 7.51 |
| 120° | 4.56 | 6.00 | 6.63 | 7.62 |
| 135° | 4.08 | 5.73 | 6.44 | 7.47 |
| 150° | 3.50 | 5.28 | 6.18 | 7.13 |
| Run VMG | 3.04 | 4.62 | 5.74 | 6.64 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 400 kg.
Rigging
Nek 26 rig and sail dimensions
A Nek 26 carries 9.59 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.61 m boom, a forestay 9.14 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 35 to 43 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.