Victory 42
Victory · Håkan Södergren · 1987
Updated
The Victory 42 is a 12.46 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Håkan Södergren and built by Victory, first launched in 1987. It races in Class C.
Length
12.46 m
40′ 11″
Beam
3.83 m
Draft
1.97 m
Displacement
9.1 t
Sail area
92 m²
On the podium
Where a Victory 42 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
1
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 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Victory 42 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Island Offshore - Race to the Arctic2026
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 Victory 42 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
First 34.7 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (2 meetings), Elan 37 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 3200 (1 meeting), First 35 (Farr) (1 meeting), First 30 (1 meeting), Aphrodite 101 (1 meeting), Dufour 34 (2 meetings), Salona 34 (1 meeting), Elan 380 (1 meeting), Dehler 36 (Stadt) (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
5.31
38°
Beam reach
8.30
90°
Broad reach
8.90
135°
Downwind VMG
7.96
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 is a light-air boat. 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 a reach when the breeze is soft, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the beat as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind 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 beam reach.
How fast is a Victory 42
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.61 | 4.80 | 5.17 | 5.31 |
| 52° | 5.53 | 6.97 | 7.33 | 7.47 |
| 60° | 5.84 | 7.17 | 7.53 | 7.69 |
| 75° | 6.14 | 7.36 | 7.75 | 7.99 |
| 90° | 6.15 | 7.46 | 7.91 | 8.30 |
| 110° | 5.82 | 7.44 | 8.06 | 8.78 |
| 120° | 5.54 | 7.32 | 8.04 | 9.00 |
| 135° | 4.89 | 6.94 | 7.83 | 8.90 |
| 150° | 4.12 | 6.25 | 7.49 | 8.51 |
| Run VMG | 3.57 | 5.43 | 6.80 | 7.96 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 650 kg.
Rigging
Victory 42 rig and sail dimensions
A Victory 42 carries 16.46 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.53 m boom, a forestay 16.48 m above the deck and a 5.28 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 93 to 115 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.