X-3
X-Yachts · Niels Jeppesen · 1987
Updated
The X-3 is a 10.03 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts, first launched in 1987. It races in Class C.
Length
10.03 m
32′ 11″
Beam
3.37 m
Draft
1.85 m
Displacement
3.4 t
Sail area
61 m²
On the podium
Where a X-3 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 44 starts by 3 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 44 starts by 3 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a X-3 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Regata dei Due Golfi (Lignano)2026
Aegean Regatta2025- Regata dei Due Golfi (Lignano)2025
- 52° Trofeo Bernetti Classe ORC2023
- ORC Greek Championship2023
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
0%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a X-3 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
First 27 (Mauric) (7 meetings), Sun Legende 41 (7 meetings), First 44.7 (7 meetings), Comet 41 (7 meetings), Archambault 40 (7 meetings), Elan 434 Impression (7 meetings), Sun Odyssey 37.1 (7 meetings), Elan 40 (7 meetings), Bavaria Match 35 (7 meetings), Oceanis 393 (7 meetings), Sun Odyssey 410 (7 meetings), Oceanis 473 (7 meetings), Bavaria 44 (7 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 46 (7 meetings), Dufour 34 (7 meetings), Farr 49 (6 meetings), X-41 (6 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (6 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the X-3 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
4.99
38°
Beam reach
8.12
90°
Broad reach
9.01
135°
Downwind VMG
7.74
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.
It does most things without giving much away. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach in a strong breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, 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
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 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a X-3
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.51 | 4.64 | 4.92 | 4.99 |
| 52° | 5.29 | 6.55 | 6.84 | 6.98 |
| 60° | 5.53 | 6.70 | 7.02 | 7.21 |
| 75° | 5.71 | 6.86 | 7.28 | 7.64 |
| 90° | 5.68 | 7.00 | 7.51 | 8.12 |
| 110° | 5.63 | 7.04 | 7.89 | 8.89 |
| 120° | 5.42 | 6.94 | 7.83 | 9.39 |
| 135° | 4.87 | 6.62 | 7.53 | 9.01 |
| 150° | 4.12 | 6.04 | 7.08 | 8.41 |
| Run VMG | 3.58 | 5.24 | 6.48 | 7.74 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 510 kg.
Rigging
X-3 rig and sail dimensions
A X-3 carries 12.98 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.80 m boom, a forestay 11.72 m above the deck and a 4.50 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 53 to 63 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.