Sydney 40
Bashford · Murray Burns Dovel · 1998
Updated
The Sydney 40 is a 12.47 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Murray Burns Dovel and built by Bashford, first launched in 1998. It races in Class B.
Length
12.47 m
40′ 11″
Beam
3.73 m
Draft
2.68 m
Displacement
5.6 t
Sail area
101 m²
On the podium
Where a Sydney 40 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 39 starts by 3 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 39 starts by 3 boats between 2018 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Sydney 40 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
- Garmin ORC World Championship2025
Baltic Offshore Week 2025 - ORC EST and FIN Championship2025- ORC European Championship2024
- ORC EST and FIN Championship - Baltic Offshore Week2023
- Alexela ORC World Championship2021
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
0%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 8 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Sydney 40 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Grand Soleil 47 (7 meetings), Salona 38 (5 meetings), Waarschip 36 (5 meetings), Elan 340 (2 meetings), Fiumanka 33 (2 meetings), Melges 24 (2 meetings), Salona 40 (2 meetings), Seascape 27 (2 meetings), Justin Ten (2 meetings), Elan 31 (Design) (1 meeting), Sun Light 31 (1 meeting), Dufour 334 (1 meeting), J/80 (1 meeting), X-332 (1 meeting), Vrolijk 37 (1 meeting), Maxi 95 (1 meeting), Toro 25 (1 meeting), First 27.7 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Sydney 40 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
5.91
37°
Beam reach
9.46
90°
Broad reach
11.57
135°
Downwind VMG
8.93
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is off the wind once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 upwind.
How fast is a Sydney 40
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.06 | 5.43 | 5.75 | 5.91 |
| 52° | 6.19 | 7.69 | 8.01 | 8.20 |
| 60° | 6.59 | 7.91 | 8.25 | 8.48 |
| 75° | 6.79 | 8.10 | 8.57 | 8.95 |
| 90° | 6.71 | 8.12 | 8.81 | 9.46 |
| 110° | 6.54 | 8.30 | 9.08 | 9.98 |
| 120° | 6.31 | 8.24 | 9.37 | 10.68 |
| 135° | 5.66 | 7.83 | 9.02 | 11.57 |
| 150° | 4.72 | 7.03 | 8.30 | 10.14 |
| Run VMG | 4.09 | 6.08 | 7.39 | 8.93 |
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 750 kg.
Rigging
Sydney 40 rig and sail dimensions
A Sydney 40 carries 15.77 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.87 m boom, a forestay 15.37 m above the deck and a 5.29 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 111 to 152 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.