Pogo 850
Pogo Structures · Pierre Rolland · 1999
Updated
The Pogo 850 is a 8.50 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Pierre Rolland and built by Pogo Structures, first launched in 1999. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 41% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 41% of the boats it races against.
95th of 159 in its class.
Updated — First Race Edge for this design. Enough boats of this design have now been measured to rank it. It is strongest in light and heavy air.
This design has been found in real race results — 20 starts across 8 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
8.50 m
27′ 11″
Beam
3.64 m
Draft
1.80 m
Displacement
2.8 t
Sail area
53 m²
On the podium
Where a Pogo 850 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
15%
of 20 starts by 3 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 20 starts by 3 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Pogo 850 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
54° Campionato Invernale Vela d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2026- 70a Regata dei Tre Golfi2025
- Vesuvio Race2025
- 53° Campionato Invernale d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2025
- Regata dell'Amicizia2024
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
0%
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 Pogo 850 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-35 (7 meetings), Dufour 34 (7 meetings), Sun Fast 32 (5 meetings), X-332 (3 meetings), Italia 11.98 (3 meetings), J/122 (2 meetings), IMX 45 (2 meetings), Swan 42 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Solaris 44 (3 meetings), X-50 (2 meetings), Farr 45 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (2 meetings), First 50 (4 meetings), Ker 46 (3 meetings), Este 39 (2 meetings), X-41 (3 meetings), First 40.7 (2 meetings), Dufour 455 (2 meetings), Pogo 10.50 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (2 meetings), TP 52 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), J/99 (2 meetings), Pogo 36 (2 meetings), Comet 33 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 3300 (Andrieu) (2 meetings), J/92 (4 meetings), Bavaria 36 (1 meeting), J/40 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Pogo 850 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
4.91
39°
Beam reach
8.26
90°
Broad reach
9.86
135°
Downwind VMG
7.51
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 on a broad reach once it pipes up, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, 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 on the run in moderate 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.
Full width is 1.2 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Pogo 850
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.31 | 4.48 | 4.86 | 4.91 |
| 52° | 5.05 | 6.44 | 6.86 | 6.96 |
| 60° | 5.34 | 6.61 | 7.08 | 7.26 |
| 75° | 5.63 | 6.80 | 7.37 | 7.76 |
| 90° | 5.64 | 6.92 | 7.61 | 8.26 |
| 110° | 5.58 | 7.13 | 8.07 | 8.99 |
| 120° | 5.44 | 7.05 | 8.11 | 9.73 |
| 135° | 4.87 | 6.74 | 7.81 | 9.86 |
| 150° | 4.13 | 6.09 | 7.16 | 8.61 |
| Run VMG | 3.57 | 5.28 | 6.26 | 7.51 |
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 480 kg.
Rigging
Pogo 850 rig and sail dimensions
A Pogo 850 carries 11.20 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.85 m boom, a forestay 12.29 m above the deck and a 4.33 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 9 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 75 to 84 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.