Class CHeavy displacementCruiser/Racer

Spirit 32

van Heygen · Jac de Ridder · 1975

Updated 27 September 2026

Measured under the previous VPP (2021–2024)

The Spirit 32 is a 9.53 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Jac de Ridder and built by van Heygen, first launched in 1975. It races in Class C.

Length

9.53 m

31′ 3″

Beam

3.18 m

Draft

1.82 m

Displacement

4.7 t

Sail area

49 m²

No boat of this design has been measured under the current VPP. The figures below come from measurement records issued between 2021 and 2024, on the earlier scale, so this design carries no Race Edge.

On the podium

Where a Spirit 32 finishes when she goes racing.

Wins

Seconds

Thirds

Starts

Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.

Read from 1 start by 1 boat between 2019, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Spirit 32 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

50 Mijl Doublehanded2019

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

Round 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 Spirit 32 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Met too few times for a figure:

X-312 (1 meeting), Pogo 850 (1 meeting), Waarschip 101 (1 meeting), X-362 (1 meeting), Stadt 34 (1 meeting), First 31.7 (1 meeting), Winner 950 (2 meetings), Varianta 37 (1 meeting), X-34 (1 meeting), Dehler 34 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), UFO 34 (1 meeting), Comfortina 38 (1 meeting), Dehler 31 (1 meeting), Brise De Mer 34 (1 meeting), J/92 (2 meetings), F & F 95 (1 meeting), X-372 (1 meeting), Seascape 24 (1 meeting), X-99 (1 meeting)

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

4.58

39°

Beam reach

7.37

90°

Broad reach

8.28

135°

Downwind VMG

7.45

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.

How fast is a Spirit 32

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle	6 kn	10 kn	14 kn	20 kn
Beat VMG	3.60	4.37	4.63	4.58
52°	5.33	6.19	6.47	6.51
60°	5.55	6.33	6.62	6.73
75°	5.69	6.47	6.81	7.08
90°	5.67	6.58	6.87	7.37
110°	5.87	6.75	7.21	7.67
120°	5.76	6.74	7.26	8.04
135°	5.30	6.55	7.16	8.28
150°	4.67	6.18	6.87	7.91
Run VMG	4.04	5.46	6.42	7.45

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail18 m² – 20 m²

Headsail29 m² – 32 m²

Spinnaker58 m² – 73 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 480 kg.

Rigging

Spirit 32 rig and sail dimensions

A Spirit 32 carries 10.80 m of mainsail hoist on a 2.95 m boom, a forestay 12.10 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 3 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP10.80 m10.80 – 11.02

Boom lengthE2.95 m2.91 – 2.95

Forestay heightIG12.10 m12.00 – 12.25

Fore triangle baseJ3.98 m3.95 – 4.00

Spinnaker hoistISP12.10 m12.00 – 12.29

Boom above deckBAS1.20 m1.20 – 1.22

Sails

Mainsail19.5 m²18.3 – 20.1

Headsail29.8 m²29.4 – 31.6

Spinnaker72.3 m²58.2 – 73.2

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 58 to 73 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.