Sigma 38
MARINE PROJECTS · David Thomas · 1987
Updated
The Sigma 38 is a 11.55 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by David Thomas and built by MARINE PROJECTS, first launched in 1987. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 16% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 16% of the boats it races against.
134th of 159 in its class.
Length
11.55 m
37′ 11″
Beam
3.69 m
Draft
2.05 m
Displacement
7.0 t
Sail area
79 m²
On the podium
Where a Sigma 38 finishes when she goes racing.
Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sigma 38 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
No regattas found yet.
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
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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Sigma 38 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.
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
5.37
37°
Beam reach
8.16
90°
Broad reach
8.68
135°
Downwind VMG
7.75
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 to windward once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach when it blows, 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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Sigma 38
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.49 | 4.75 | 5.21 | 5.37 |
| 52° | 5.33 | 6.81 | 7.23 | 7.38 |
| 60° | 5.62 | 6.99 | 7.39 | 7.58 |
| 75° | 5.81 | 7.12 | 7.56 | 7.89 |
| 90° | 5.70 | 7.17 | 7.67 | 8.16 |
| 110° | 5.54 | 7.22 | 7.87 | 8.65 |
| 120° | 5.33 | 7.13 | 7.82 | 8.84 |
| 135° | 4.73 | 6.74 | 7.60 | 8.68 |
| 150° | 3.97 | 6.07 | 7.28 | 8.27 |
| Run VMG | 3.44 | 5.27 | 6.64 | 7.75 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 720 kg.
Rigging
Sigma 38 rig and sail dimensions
A Sigma 38 carries 14.47 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.18 m boom, a forestay 13.38 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 8 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails