W 60
CARLSSON VARF · Bruce Farr · 2001
Updated
The W 60 is a 19.53 m planing racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by CARLSSON VARF, first launched in 2001. It races in Maxi.
Length
19.53 m
64′ 1″
Beam
5.19 m
Draft
3.74 m
Displacement
14.3 t
Sail area
193 m²
On the podium
Where a W 60 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
2
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 2 starts by 1 boat between 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a W 60 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
North Sea Regatta2026
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: 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 W 60 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Met too few times for a figure:
Landmark 43 (2 meetings), Sydney 46 (2 meetings), Mat 107 (2 meetings), J/112 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), First 40 (2 meetings), Ker 46 (2 meetings), Luffe 400 (2 meetings), J/122 (2 meetings), Dehler 41 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), Xp 44 (2 meetings), J/121 (2 meetings)
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
7.64
36°
Beam reach
12.79
90°
Broad reach
15.29
135°
Downwind VMG
11.64
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. 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 in the light stuff, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage upwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short downwind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
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 1.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a W 60
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 5.02 | 6.68 | 7.25 | 7.64 |
| 52° | 7.84 | 9.61 | 10.18 | 10.68 |
| 60° | 8.43 | 9.90 | 10.55 | 11.14 |
| 75° | 9.04 | 10.30 | 11.11 | 11.95 |
| 90° | 9.13 | 10.67 | 11.53 | 12.79 |
| 110° | 8.60 | 10.57 | 12.16 | 14.08 |
| 120° | 7.99 | 10.27 | 12.04 | 14.73 |
| 135° | 6.77 | 9.74 | 11.59 | 15.29 |
| 150° | 5.64 | 8.51 | 10.34 | 13.44 |
| Run VMG | 4.88 | 7.37 | 9.00 | 11.64 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 1420 kg.
Rigging
W 60 rig and sail dimensions
A W 60 carries 23.59 m of mainsail hoist on a 7.15 m boom, a forestay 21.20 m above the deck and a 8.65 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 — 293 to 345 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.