Solaris 48
Solaris Yachts · Bill Tripp · 2008
Updated
The Solaris 48 is a 14.95 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Bill Tripp and built by Solaris Yachts, first launched in 2008. It races in Class A.
Length
14.95 m
49′ 1″
Beam
4.40 m
Draft
2.80 m
Displacement
13.6 t
Sail area
137 m²
On the podium
Where a Solaris 48 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 23 starts by 5 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 23 starts by 5 boats between 2023 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Solaris 48 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2025- Campionato Invernale West Liguria2025
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2024
- Solaris CUP2024
- Campionato Invernale West Liguria2024
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: 9 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
0%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Solaris 48 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Mylius 11 (7 meetings), Canard 41 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (7 meetings), Comet 45 (6 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (5 meetings), Ro 330 (4 meetings), Impala 36 (4 meetings), Baltic 50 (4 meetings), Swan 42 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (4 meetings), First 40.7 (3 meetings), Dehler 38 (Judel/Vrolijk) (3 meetings), Melges 32 (3 meetings), T 34 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 37 (2 meetings), Este 24 (2 meetings), J/99 (2 meetings), Solaris 42 (6 meetings), Solaris 36 (2 meetings), Solaris 442 (6 meetings), Solaris 47 (6 meetings), Solaris 40 (4 meetings), Solaris One (2 meetings), More 40 (3 meetings), Elan 410 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 39 (Maletto) (2 meetings), Genesi 43 (2 meetings), First 36.7 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 39 (Jézéquel) (2 meetings), Eleva 50 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 35 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Solaris 48 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
6.25
38°
Beam reach
10.01
90°
Broad reach
11.22
135°
Downwind VMG
8.87
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.
Soft conditions suit it. In the light it does more than its numbers promise, and gives some of that back when the wind arrives.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beam in light air, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on the run 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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Solaris 48
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.15 | 5.64 | 6.01 | 6.25 |
| 52° | 6.43 | 8.25 | 8.56 | 8.79 |
| 60° | 6.85 | 8.54 | 8.82 | 9.06 |
| 75° | 7.17 | 8.76 | 9.16 | 9.52 |
| 90° | 7.08 | 8.77 | 9.47 | 10.01 |
| 110° | 6.63 | 8.80 | 9.65 | 10.44 |
| 120° | 6.46 | 8.72 | 9.81 | 11.01 |
| 135° | 5.78 | 8.24 | 9.40 | 11.22 |
| 150° | 4.82 | 7.23 | 8.76 | 10.13 |
| Run VMG | 4.18 | 6.27 | 7.64 | 8.87 |
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 640 kg.
Rigging
Solaris 48 rig and sail dimensions
A Solaris 48 carries 20.14 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.70 m boom, a forestay 20.20 m above the deck and a 5.83 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 172 to 207 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.