Salona 45
AD Boats · J&J Design · 2003
Updated
The Salona 45 is a 13.61 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by J&J Design and built by AD Boats, first launched in 2003. It races in Class A.
Length
13.61 m
44′ 8″
Beam
4.14 m
Draft
2.39 m
Displacement
10.5 t
Sail area
109 m²
On the podium
Where a Salona 45 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
65%
of 48 starts by 4 boats
Wins
21%
Read from 48 starts by 4 boats between 2015 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Salona 45 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Vento de l'Alguer2025
Regata Strait Challenge2025- Vento de l'Alguer2024
- Regata Amigos de la Vela2024
- Regata de los Descubridores2024
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
73%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
57%
of these races end on the podium
Sharper round the buoys. Short courses reward acceleration and manoeuvring, and that is where this design makes its money.
Who she races against
The designs a Salona 45 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Pogo 36 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 39 (Maletto) (7 meetings), JOD 35 (6 meetings), Elan 350 (6 meetings), Brenta 24 (6 meetings), F&c 40 (4 meetings), Elan 37 (4 meetings), Sun Odyssey 32 (4 meetings), Hanse 370 (4 meetings), Oceanis 331 (4 meetings), First 38 (4 meetings), Elan 33 (4 meetings), First 31.7 (5 meetings), First 36.7 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (4 meetings), Elan 450 (3 meetings), Bashford 41 (3 meetings), TP 52 (Farr) (3 meetings), Dufour 40 (3 meetings), First 40.7 (3 meetings), Bavaria 40 (2 meetings), Dehler 41 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), Show 29 (2 meetings), Dehler 34 (Stadt) (2 meetings), Furia 37 (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Salona 45 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
5.86
38°
Beam reach
9.35
90°
Broad reach
10.20
135°
Downwind VMG
8.48
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 one is at home going to windward. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.
Where it gains
Its best ground is across the wind when it blows, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage upwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that will lift and run given enough breeze.
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 beam reach.
How fast is a Salona 45
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.65 | 5.05 | 5.64 | 5.86 |
| 52° | 5.62 | 7.45 | 8.06 | 8.27 |
| 60° | 5.96 | 7.70 | 8.29 | 8.52 |
| 75° | 6.22 | 7.92 | 8.52 | 8.97 |
| 90° | 6.08 | 7.93 | 8.64 | 9.35 |
| 110° | 6.02 | 8.14 | 9.02 | 9.88 |
| 120° | 5.86 | 8.03 | 9.00 | 10.26 |
| 135° | 5.24 | 7.55 | 8.70 | 10.20 |
| 150° | 4.38 | 6.67 | 8.17 | 9.48 |
| Run VMG | 3.79 | 5.78 | 7.17 | 8.48 |
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 880 kg.
Rigging
Salona 45 rig and sail dimensions
A Salona 45 carries 15.83 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.77 m boom, a forestay 16.81 m above the deck and a 5.45 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 — 125 to 152 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.