X-34
X-Yachts · Niels Jeppesen · 2007
Updated
The X-34 is a 10.34 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts, first launched in 2007. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 70% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 70% of the boats it races against.
49th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 126 starts across 36 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
10.34 m
33′ 11″
Beam
3.39 m
Draft
1.90 m
Displacement
5.5 t
Sail area
68 m²
On the podium
Where a X-34 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
13%
of 126 starts by 13 boats
Wins
2%
Read from 126 starts by 13 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a X-34 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
4ª Golfo dei Poeti Cup2026- 59° Trofeo Fiorillo2026
Baltic Offshore Week 2026 - ORC A & B EST and FIN Championship2026- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
- LA GRANDE BOA 2026 - Trofeo Com.te Belloni2026
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
8%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
6%
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-34 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the X-34 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
5.04
39°
Beam reach
8.14
90°
Broad reach
8.96
135°
Downwind VMG
7.85
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 design is even-tempered. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the run in a working breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage across the wind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind in a strong breeze, 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 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a X-34
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.35 | 4.56 | 4.94 | 5.04 |
| 52° | 5.13 | 6.66 | 7.05 | 7.18 |
| 60° | 5.42 | 6.86 | 7.26 | 7.41 |
| 75° | 5.62 | 7.01 | 7.52 | 7.79 |
| 90° | 5.61 | 7.14 | 7.61 | 8.14 |
| 110° | 5.62 | 7.26 | 7.95 | 8.52 |
| 120° | 5.43 | 7.16 | 7.96 | 8.92 |
| 135° | 4.85 | 6.83 | 7.72 | 8.96 |
| 150° | 4.12 | 6.18 | 7.34 | 8.48 |
| Run VMG | 3.57 | 5.38 | 6.70 | 7.85 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 530 kg.
Rigging
X-34 rig and sail dimensions
A X-34 carries 14.05 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.70 m boom, a forestay 14.29 m above the deck and a 4.44 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 15 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 64 to 125 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.