X-40
X-Yachts · Niels Jeppesen · 2004
Updated
The X-40 is a 12.22 m displacement racing yacht designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts, first launched in 2004. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 38% 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 38% of the boats it races against.
57th of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 50 starts across 17 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
12.22 m
40′ 1″
Beam
3.76 m
Draft
2.10 m
Displacement
7.7 t
Sail area
89 m²
On the podium
Where a X-40 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
38%
of 50 starts by 10 boats
Wins
16%
Read from 50 starts by 10 boats between 2014 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a X-40 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
"Πορος 2026"2026
Island Offshore - Race to the Arctic2026- "Αγ. Νικολαου 2025"2025
- "Πορος 2025"2025
- Hollænderseilasen2025
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
17%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
64%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a X-40 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-362 (7 meetings), Millenium 40 (7 meetings), Archambault 40 (7 meetings), Solaris 36 (7 meetings), Salona 41 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 44 (Polli) (7 meetings), Landmark 43 (7 meetings), HH 42 (7 meetings), J/133 (7 meetings), Moody 39 (7 meetings), First 27.7 (7 meetings), Sun Fast 3200 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the X-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
5.50
39°
Beam reach
8.79
90°
Broad reach
9.69
135°
Downwind VMG
8.34
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 goes better than its measurements say it should, 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 on a broad reach when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
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-40
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.65 | 4.97 | 5.38 | 5.50 |
| 52° | 5.57 | 7.20 | 7.62 | 7.76 |
| 60° | 5.87 | 7.41 | 7.83 | 8.00 |
| 75° | 6.11 | 7.58 | 8.09 | 8.41 |
| 90° | 6.00 | 7.65 | 8.21 | 8.79 |
| 110° | 5.96 | 7.77 | 8.54 | 9.19 |
| 120° | 5.78 | 7.68 | 8.54 | 9.62 |
| 135° | 5.15 | 7.29 | 8.27 | 9.69 |
| 150° | 4.33 | 6.53 | 7.84 | 9.09 |
| Run VMG | 3.75 | 5.66 | 7.06 | 8.34 |
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 690 kg.
Rigging
X-40 rig and sail dimensions
A X-40 carries 15.70 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.60 m boom, a forestay 16.40 m above the deck and a 4.58 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 16 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 84 to 137 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.