Pac 52
Cookson · Judel/Vrolijk · 2015
Updated
The Pac 52 is a 15.85 m planing racing yacht designed by Judel/Vrolijk and built by Cookson, first launched in 2015. It races in Class 0.
Length
15.85 m
52′ 0″
Beam
4.47 m
Draft
3.61 m
Displacement
7.1 t
Sail area
168 m²
On the podium
Where a Pac 52 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
44%
of 18 starts by 1 boat
Wins
6%
Read from 18 starts by 1 boat between 2024 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Pac 52 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean 6002026- ORC World Championship2026
Rolex Middle Sea Race2025- ORC World Championship2024
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
42%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 6 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Pac 52 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
JPK 10.30 (5 meetings), Cookson 50 (3 meetings), Swan 42 (4 meetings), Elan 450 (2 meetings), HH 42 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 3300 (Andrieu) (2 meetings), J/121 (2 meetings), Neo 400 (2 meetings), Neo 430 (3 meetings), Dehler 41 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), Elan 333 (2 meetings), Salona 38 (1 meeting), JPK 10.80 (1 meeting), Italia 11.98 (1 meeting), Dehler 30 OD (3 meetings), XR 41 (3 meetings), First 36 (3 meetings), Solaris 44 (1 meeting), JPK 11.80 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (1 meeting), Sly 42 (1 meeting), J/11 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 44 (Polli) (1 meeting), More 55 (1 meeting), Archambault 40 (2 meetings), Pogo 50 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 50 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), First 53 (1 meeting), Akilaria Rc 2 (1 meeting), Pogo 12.50 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 3200 (1 meeting), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (1 meeting), Dufour 34 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Pac 52 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
7.34
37°
Beam reach
13.89
90°
Broad reach
16.51
135°
Downwind VMG
13.43
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. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is off the wind when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage across the wind 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 0.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Pac 52
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 5.09 | 6.54 | 7.04 | 7.34 |
| 52° | 7.77 | 9.48 | 10.13 | 10.73 |
| 60° | 8.31 | 9.93 | 10.71 | 11.41 |
| 75° | 8.67 | 10.57 | 11.61 | 12.61 |
| 90° | 8.56 | 10.66 | 12.32 | 13.89 |
| 110° | 8.17 | 10.71 | 12.39 | 15.37 |
| 120° | 7.73 | 10.60 | 12.85 | 15.40 |
| 135° | 6.97 | 10.01 | 12.79 | 16.51 |
| 150° | 5.81 | 8.74 | 10.97 | 15.51 |
| Run VMG | 5.03 | 7.57 | 9.50 | 13.43 |
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 1280 kg.
Rigging
Pac 52 rig and sail dimensions
A Pac 52 carries 21.11 m of mainsail hoist on a 7.05 m boom, a forestay 20.31 m above the deck and a 9.08 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails