Sigma 33
MARINE PROJECTS · David Thomas · 1978
Updated
The Sigma 33 is a 9.87 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by David Thomas and built by MARINE PROJECTS, first launched in 1978. It races in Class C.
Length
9.87 m
32′ 5″
Beam
3.21 m
Draft
1.78 m
Displacement
4.4 t
Sail area
57 m²
On the podium
Where a Sigma 33 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
11%
of 28 starts by 2 boats
Wins
4%
Read from 28 starts by 2 boats between 2018 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sigma 33 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
"Κυπελλο Χριστουγεννων"2025- Νικος Γκρανιας2024
- "Κυπελλο Χριστουγεννων 2023"2023
- "Αγ. Νικολαου 2023"2023
- :Nikolaos Koumiotis 2022"2022
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
7%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Sigma 33 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Elan 410 (7 meetings), First 31.7 (7 meetings), Oceanis 390 (7 meetings), Optima 101 (6 meetings), Bavaria 36 (6 meetings), Sun Odyssey 36.2 (6 meetings), Carter 37 (6 meetings), Sun Odyssey 34.2 (6 meetings), Melody (7 meetings), Feeling 109 (6 meetings), Sun Shine 36 (7 meetings), Sun Odyssey 35 (6 meetings), Ecume De Mer (5 meetings), Apollo 12 (7 meetings), Triton 48 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Sigma 33 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
4.75
38°
Beam reach
7.44
90°
Broad reach
7.99
135°
Downwind VMG
7.14
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 light-air boat. Early-season racing and morning breezes play to its strengths; once it pipes up the fleet comes back to it.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beat when the breeze is soft, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind 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 Sigma 33
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.24 | 4.33 | 4.68 | 4.75 |
| 52° | 4.93 | 6.20 | 6.54 | 6.65 |
| 60° | 5.18 | 6.36 | 6.70 | 6.84 |
| 75° | 5.33 | 6.49 | 6.88 | 7.15 |
| 90° | 5.23 | 6.54 | 6.96 | 7.44 |
| 110° | 5.17 | 6.63 | 7.21 | 7.83 |
| 120° | 4.98 | 6.55 | 7.19 | 8.04 |
| 135° | 4.46 | 6.26 | 7.00 | 7.99 |
| 150° | 3.77 | 5.71 | 6.72 | 7.63 |
| Run VMG | 3.26 | 4.97 | 6.20 | 7.14 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 510 kg.
Rigging
Sigma 33 rig and sail dimensions
A Sigma 33 carries 11.59 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.94 m boom, a forestay 11.21 m above the deck. 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 — 59 to 67 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.