X-79
X-Yachts · Niels Jeppesen · 1979
Updated
The X-79 is a 7.93 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Niels Jeppesen and built by X-Yachts, first launched in 1979. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 35% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 35% of the boats it races against.
104th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 39 starts across 9 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
7.93 m
26′ 0″
Beam
2.86 m
Draft
1.36 m
Displacement
1.6 t
Sail area
40 m²
On the podium
Where a X-79 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
3%
of 39 starts by 5 boats
Wins
3%
Read from 39 starts by 5 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a X-79 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Bundefjorden Onsdagsseilaser2026
E4 Championship W/L2024
DH-Dm2024- Tallinn Championship W/L2023
- Hollænderseilasen2023
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: 7 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
0%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a X-79 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-35 (7 meetings), X-37 (6 meetings), J/92 (7 meetings), Farr 30 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (4 meetings), Cumulus (3 meetings), Sinergia 40 (6 meetings), Melges 24 (6 meetings), Sun Fast 3600 (3 meetings), XR 41 (3 meetings), 11 Metre (3 meetings), Fareast 28 (3 meetings), Hanse 430 (6 meetings), Luffe 40 (3 meetings), Dehler 34 (Judel/Vrolijk) (3 meetings), Hanse 371 (3 meetings), Arcona 370 (3 meetings), Hanse 370 (3 meetings), Elan 310 (3 meetings), Aphrodite 101 (3 meetings), Sun Fast 3300 (Andrieu) (3 meetings), J/80 (4 meetings), Salona 34 (2 meetings), Melges 32 (2 meetings), First 40.7 (4 meetings), First 40 (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the X-79 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
4.54
39°
Beam reach
7.54
90°
Broad reach
9.37
135°
Downwind VMG
7.25
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach once it pipes up, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage running deep as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short on the beat once it pipes up, 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 1.2 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a X-79
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.25 | 4.34 | 4.55 | 4.54 |
| 52° | 4.92 | 6.09 | 6.30 | 6.39 |
| 60° | 5.17 | 6.22 | 6.48 | 6.62 |
| 75° | 5.31 | 6.33 | 6.76 | 7.03 |
| 90° | 5.24 | 6.40 | 6.92 | 7.54 |
| 110° | 5.25 | 6.55 | 7.31 | 8.08 |
| 120° | 5.08 | 6.46 | 7.37 | 8.96 |
| 135° | 4.55 | 6.19 | 7.06 | 9.37 |
| 150° | 3.81 | 5.70 | 6.68 | 8.13 |
| Run VMG | 3.30 | 4.98 | 6.12 | 7.25 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 350 kg.
Rigging
X-79 rig and sail dimensions
A X-79 carries 10.00 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.50 m boom, a forestay 9.21 m above the deck and a 3.45 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 17 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 39 to 49 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.