Solaris 55
Solaris Yachts · Javier Soto Acebal · 2017
Updated
The Solaris 55 is a 16.69 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Javier Soto Acebal and built by Solaris Yachts, first launched in 2017. It races in Class 0. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 20% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 20% of the boats it races against.
9th of 11 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 32 starts across 10 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
16.69 m
54′ 9″
Beam
4.88 m
Draft
3.03 m
Displacement
20.8 t
Sail area
181 m²
On the podium
Where a Solaris 55 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
22%
of 32 starts by 5 boats
Wins
12%
Read from 32 starts by 5 boats between 2023 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Solaris 55 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Campionato Invernale dell'Argentario - Coastal Race2026- Coppa Regina dei Paesi Bassi2025
- Campionato Invernale dell'Argentario - Coastal Race2025
- Riva Montecristo2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2024
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: 3 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
24%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a Solaris 55 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Comet 51 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (7 meetings), First 30 (Kouyoumdjian) (7 meetings), Pogo 50 (6 meetings), Sun Fast 40.3 (6 meetings), J/35 (6 meetings), Azuree 46 (6 meetings), Sun Odyssey 45.2 (5 meetings), M 34 (5 meetings), Bonin 31 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 47 (5 meetings), JOD 35 (5 meetings), Elan 410 (5 meetings), Elan 310 (4 meetings), M 37 (4 meetings), Dehler 42 (4 meetings), First 41 (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Solaris 55 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
6.55
38°
Beam reach
10.52
90°
Broad reach
11.54
135°
Downwind VMG
9.29
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. 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 a reach once the breeze fills, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage to windward as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
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 0.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Solaris 55
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.11 | 5.70 | 6.27 | 6.55 |
| 52° | 6.33 | 8.37 | 9.02 | 9.30 |
| 60° | 6.75 | 8.68 | 9.31 | 9.60 |
| 75° | 7.08 | 8.96 | 9.62 | 10.07 |
| 90° | 7.07 | 9.05 | 9.87 | 10.52 |
| 110° | 6.88 | 9.21 | 10.15 | 11.09 |
| 120° | 6.64 | 9.11 | 10.23 | 11.45 |
| 135° | 5.97 | 8.59 | 9.86 | 11.54 |
| 150° | 4.99 | 7.51 | 9.18 | 10.57 |
| Run VMG | 4.31 | 6.50 | 7.98 | 9.29 |
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 860 kg.
Rigging
Solaris 55 rig and sail dimensions
A Solaris 55 carries 22.15 m of mainsail hoist on a 7.62 m boom, a forestay 23.17 m above the deck and a 7.52 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 8 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 217 to 275 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.