X-50
X-Yachts · Niels Jeppesen · 2004
Updated
The X-50 is a 15.22 m displacement racing yacht designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts, first launched in 2004. It races in Class A. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 49% 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 49% of the boats it races against.
24th of 46 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 29 starts across 12 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
15.22 m
49′ 11″
Beam
4.29 m
Draft
2.96 m
Displacement
13.3 t
Sail area
146 m²
On the podium
Where a X-50 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
3%
of 29 starts by 6 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 29 starts by 6 boats between 2016 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a X-50 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Edison Next Italian Offshore Sailing Championship - Campionato Italiano Assoluto d’Altura2026- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026
- XXX Trofeo Punta Stendardo2026
MaiOR - Mai Offshore Regatta2026- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2026
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
—
Not enough data yet: 8 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a X-50 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
TP 52 (Judel/Vrolijk) (7 meetings), X5.6 (7 meetings), Mat 122 (7 meetings), X-55 (7 meetings), Farr 42 (7 meetings), Dufour 34 (6 meetings), First 36.7 (7 meetings), First 34.7 (6 meetings), First 40.7 (5 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (5 meetings), X-35 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek) (4 meetings), X-332 (4 meetings), Cookson 50 (4 meetings), IMX 45 (3 meetings), First 45 (Briand) (3 meetings), Farr 45 (3 meetings), Este 39 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (3 meetings), M 37 (3 meetings), Sun Fast 3300 (Andrieu) (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 47 (3 meetings), Comet 45 (4 meetings), First 31.7 (3 meetings), Solaris 44 (3 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the X-50 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
6.06
38°
Beam reach
9.70
90°
Broad reach
10.97
135°
Downwind VMG
9.15
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.
Soft conditions suit it. 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 across the wind when the breeze is soft, 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 cracked off 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-50
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 4.22 | 5.56 | 5.90 | 6.06 |
| 52° | 6.40 | 8.04 | 8.39 | 8.56 |
| 60° | 6.79 | 8.30 | 8.64 | 8.82 |
| 75° | 7.02 | 8.53 | 8.96 | 9.24 |
| 90° | 6.88 | 8.58 | 9.18 | 9.70 |
| 110° | 6.63 | 8.69 | 9.46 | 10.20 |
| 120° | 6.45 | 8.62 | 9.60 | 10.67 |
| 135° | 5.80 | 8.16 | 9.28 | 10.97 |
| 150° | 4.85 | 7.21 | 8.66 | 10.11 |
| Run VMG | 4.20 | 6.24 | 7.67 | 9.15 |
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 900 kg.
Rigging
X-50 rig and sail dimensions
A X-50 carries 19.70 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.80 m boom, a forestay 20.50 m above the deck and a 5.96 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 — 141 to 247 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.