comanche yacht mast height

Published on December 23rd, 2014 | by Editor

Comanche: Designer notes

Published on December 23rd, 2014 by Editor -->

Designers Guillaume Verdier and VPLP Architects provide notes on the 100-foot Comanche… Launched in September 2014, Comanche resulted from the studies realised on the Macif and Banque Populaire IMOCA 60 monohulls, who finished first and second in the 2012 Vendée Globe.

What distinguishes her from her 100-foot competitors, such as Wild Oats or Perpetual Loyal, is her great beam, her high mast which is placed very far aft, and her boom perpendicular to the transom.

Comanche is a virtually narrow boat; she is made to sail heeled thanks to the appendages’ plan. As such, she enjoys a high fineness ratio sail plan. Inside, the structure is optimized to make the boat more resistant to damage. The cockpit was designed bearing in mind manual manoeuvres to gain weight.

Guillaume Verdier: “Comanche is not just an object, it is the result of a great collaboration with skipper Ken Read, the Tim Hacket / Casey Smith team, and the boat builder Brandon Linton. We all enjoyed working on this project. It was a positive and constructive collaboration: every mistake or difficulty was an opportunity to bounce back and find new ideas.”

Vincent Lauriot-Prévost: “After the IMOCAs, this was our first exercise in the 100 footer monohull category. As light as possible, as strong as possible, such was the equation we shared with Guillaume Verdier. Her very powerful hull, her maximum draught to enter most marinas, her low freeboard height and side water ballasts make her the most powerful ship in the 100 footer fleet.”

During the Solas Big Boat Challenge, on December 9th in Sydney Harbour, Comanche’s first confrontation with her Sydney Hobart contestants revealed all the boat’s potential in light conditions.

Ken Read, the skipper, after the Solas: “We were very pleased with how the boat went upwind, we could not have been happier with how Comanche went. She was designed to do exactly the opposite of what we had today. This boat is a beast. Do we know how it will handle (the tough conditions off the New South Wales coast and Bass Strait), will it stay in one piece? We have no idea.”

Jim Clark, the boat’s owner, will present Comanche at the start of the Sydney Hobart on December 26th. Ken Read, the skipper, and his 28 crew members will aim for line honours for this boat who’s more dedicated to records and speed. After the Sydney Hobart, Comanche should tackle the crewed Transatlantic Record, currently held by Mari Cha IV.

Shipyard: Hodgdon Yachts, Maine, USA Length: 30.45 m Approx. Beam: 8 m Draught: 6.80 m Clearance: 47 m Upwind sail area: 760 m2 Downwind sail area: 1100 m2 Displacement: under 30 tonnes

Design – Collaboration: Guillaume Verdier & VPLP Guillaume Verdier Architecture Navale: Romaric Neyhousser / Benjamin Muyl / Hervé Penfornis and Guillaume Verdier VPLP Design: Philibert Chesnay / Xavier Guilbaud / Simon Watin / Daniele Capua and Vincent Lauriot Prevost Skipper: Ken Read, assisted by Casey Smith and Tony mutter Boat’s Owner : Jim Clark

Associated to project Len Imas assisted by Romain Garo – computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Pure Office – double structure check Sail designers, managed by JB Braun Jamie France and Thia Win – Daggerboard systems Gianni Cariboni engineering office – hydraulics Refraschini engineering office – Daggerboards, keel and bulb Southern Spars engineering office Jon Williams – Winches Hasso Hoffmeister – Germanisher Lloyd check Martin Prince – Model basin.

Additional information

Tags: Comanche , Guillaume Verdier , Ken Read , VPLP

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About the Project

Comanche sports the world’s most powerful mast and sail configuration. The yacht’s designers, VPLP and Verdier, were instructed to make the yacht as fast as physics allow. That if the yacht did not set a record for the rating handicap, they had failed.

Comanche was built to break race and distance records around the world, with an extremely powerful hull shape, canting keel and monstrous sail package. As such, she needed a mast that was equal to the task of matching the sail plan and righting moment generated by the hull and keel.

Being such a radical beast, Comanche requires certain conditions to reach her full potential. She is staggeringly fast when reaching or when sailing in heavy winds. Her first real test against another reputable yacht was the 2014 Sydney-Hobart, where she met the wily Wild Oats XI. Unfortunately for her owners, Jim and Kristy Clark, the conditions did match Comanche, and she suffered in the light upwind and downwind conditions which favoured the other 100 footer.

Designer: Guillaume Verdier and VPLP Architechts LOA: 100 feet Mast Height: 47 metres

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Southern Spars helps Comanche to another record

Comache ’s watch captain and renowned offshore sailor, Tony Mutter, credits the team at Southern Spars for their work in helping the 100 foot maxi smash the Trans-Atlantic record.

On the way to breaking the record, the Verdier-VPLP 100 footer, experienced a dream run with flawless sailing conditions and no gear failures, despite pushing the boat to the limit – averaging 21.44 knots for the 2880 nm course between New York, USA and The Lizard, England.

“A big thank you to Southern Spars from all the team for the awesome rig package that powers Comanche,” says Mutter. “Following the 24-hour monohull record from last year, we now have just achieved the new Transatlantic monohull record. No issues, period. Lighter, faster, better. It is a product without compare.”

Their five day, 14 hour run, beat Mari Cha IV’ s 2003 record by 27 hours.

“To achieve something like that, it is important to be fast and reliable. I am happy for all the people involved in this project from the very beginning up to now.”

Comanche’s 47 metre tall mast sports the world’s most powerful mast and sail configuration. The yacht’s designers, VPLP and Verdier, were instructed to make the yacht as fast as physics allow. The yacht was specifically designed to break race and distance records around the world, with an extremely powerful hull shape, canting keel and monstrous sail package. As such, she requires a mast that was equal to the task of matching the extraordinary sail plan and righting-moment generated by the hull and keel.

In the last 14 months, the Southern Spars-rigged yacht has broken the world 24 hour distance record, the Newport-Bermuda Race record and now the Trans-Atlantic Record.

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100-foot supermaxi Andoo Comanche returns to Australia

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The Yacht Owner

Choose Smart for Happy Sailing!

Comanche – A Fast Racer

October 18, 2015 By Daniel Mihai Popescu 2 Comments

Comanche is a 100ft (30.5 meters) sailing yacht, which has been built with the scope to break every yachting record possible, winning prestigious yacht races, and meaning that it will probably become the fastest. The beautiful yacht, a Super Maxi class, has been commissioned by the Netscape creator, James H. Clark and his wife, the former Victoria’s Secret’s Australian model, Kristy Hinze.

The sleek black and red yacht has been built under a contract with a lot of confidentiality clauses by Hodgdon Yachts from Maine. Comanche has one of the largest single-infusion hulls constructed in America, and even globally. The oven used to cure the hull and superstructure is the largest one in the United States, and has been built by Hodgdon Yachts itself. They have been using advanced composites for several years, both for yachts and for military projects.

Super Maxi Class Yacht, Comanche

The naval architects are Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) and Guillaume Verdier, acknowledged names in the racing world. The 150 foot mast has been constructed by Southern Spars and the sails are from industry leader, North Sails , including a spinnaker of more than 11,000 square feet. Launched in September 2014, Comanche is the result of studies of the IMOCA Macif and Banque Populaire, first and second in the 2012 Vendee Globe. Different from her other 100′ rivals, like Wild Oats XI or Perpetual Loyal , with her large beam, her mast far aft and a boom directly over the transom, Comanche has a much larger sail plan. The cockpit has been designed for manual maneuvers rather than hydraulic and therefore saves weight. Comanche has a powerful hull shape and a maximum draft of 6.5m in order to enter most ports. With a low freeboard and lateral ballast the center of gravity has been lowered to gain power.

Comanche and its crew, downward view

Comanche is commanded by renowned US skipper Ken Read, and raced by a world-class crew of twenty-one international sailors.

Her performances, like what Ken Read has explained that happened during the Transatlantic Race 2015, an average speed of 25 knots per total, a top speed of 38.8 knots, and large distances passed in the mid 30’s knots, are things which will make me to dedicate more space to this kind of posts. I am thrilled by what man can achieve with a good boat, and pure racing, like this, using just the power of the wind and the ability to float over the furious waves, even to brake them if necessary.

Comanche Sails!! FAST!! from Onne van der Wal on Vimeo .

Above is a very short (too short) video made by Onne van der Wal, which shows Comanche sailing. Before publishing this, I have been looking for more videos, maybe more relevant, like I wish for this website to be, a better compilation of related sources on different matters.

So, I found this on YouTube, posted by sailingshack, where Ken Read presents the magnificent boat.

It really is a great boat, a very expensive one as well, it took $15 million to be built, and many millions more for the rest (called “campaigns”), and it made second place in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, losing to Wild Oats XI , and also second in the Transatlantic race 2015 (TR 15), loosing to Rambler 88 with a difference of only seven hours, which is really incredible, because in such a competition, they arrive at days distance. More on racing, in future posts, maybe I’ll make a new category.

I hope you like it and I’ll tell you more about yacht racing in general. What do you think, are you speed racers?

If you like what you read, please subscribe to this blog by completing the form . If you want to help more, start by following us on Twitter , and like our page on Facebook . You don’t know what good things may happen. To lighten your day, check our pins on Pinterest , we can be friends there too. Oh, and if you need a really good looking blog attached to your site, or just for fun, to express your feelings more competitively, read this Own Your Website offer! Thank you very much.

Copyright © 2015 The Yacht Owner – Comanche – A Fast Racer

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About Daniel Mihai Popescu

Daniel Mihai Popescu is a ship engineer with background in sea transportation, real estate, yacht brokerage, construction, entrepreneurship. Avid reader, traveled the world, explorer of the human nature. Never stopped learning, now I create and manage Wordpress based sites . • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • Instagram • Pinterest • Goodreads • Medium •

January 7, 2016 at 14:04

Buna ziua, Mi-as dori un articol scris de dvs. despre velierele cu chila leagan, swing keel sailboat cum sunt cunoscute. Multumesc.

January 7, 2016 at 20:31

Am să caut mai multe informații despre ele, mie tipul ăsta de chilă mi se pare o complicație inutilă deși îi văd utilitatea. Mi-ar face plăcere dacă v-ați abona la newsletter, șamd…

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Motor Yacht

Comanche is a custom motor yacht launched in 1985 by Feadship and most recently refitted in 2004.

Based in the Netherlands and with roots dating back to 1849, Feadship is recognised as the world leader in the field of pure custom superyachts.

Comanche measures 26.62 metres in length, with a max draft of 1.83 feet and a beam of 6.45 feet. She has a gross tonnage of 103 tonnes.

Comanche also features naval architecture by Frits De Voogt .

Performance and Capabilities

Comanche has a fuel capacity of 14,593 litres, and a water capacity of 6,028 litres.

Accommodation

Comanche accommodates up to 6 guests in 3 cabins. She also houses room for up to 2 crew members.

• Yacht Builder Feadship View profile
• Naval Architect Frits De Voogt No profile available
• Exterior Designer Frits De Voogt No profile available

Yacht Specs

Other feadship yachts, related news.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

Andoo Comanche

Arguably the fastest monohull on the planet, Andoo Comanche returns to defend her Line Honours title in the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.  Skipper John “Herman” Winning Jr and his exceptional team including tactician Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton, Iain Murray and Richard Allanson have captured every major Australian offshore line honours title since they chartered the yacht in 2022.  With a new inventory of sails by North Sails, Andoo Comanche will be hard to beat in 2023, with John Winning Jr looking to cap off his impressive run with the maxi yacht.

Competitor Details

Official rolex sydney hobart merchandise.

Shop the official clothing range of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in person at the Club in New South Head Road, Darling Point or online below.  

From casual to technical clothing, there is something for all occasions. Be quick as stock is limited!

Jim Cooney buys Comanche – the super maxi will now call Australia home

One of the favourites to take line honours in the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, LDV Comanche, was purchased today (14 December 2017) by Sydney’s Jim Cooney from its American owner Jim Clark, making the super maxi yacht an Australian owned and skippered entry when it starts the Boxing Day classic.

“LDV Comanche is a truly awe-inspiring yacht, and the chance to race to Hobart, alongside my children Julia and James with a world class crew, is a once in a lifetime opportunity too good to pass up. I started ocean racing 30 years ago and we have raced as a family in many parts of the world for 12 years, but this is an incredible opportunity for us to challenge for the world’s toughest blue water classic,” says Jim Cooney, who finished sixth on line in last year’s race at the helm of his Volvo 70 ‘Maserati’ and campaigned his iconic maxi Brindabella for seven years before that.

“This year competition is fierce, with the strongest line up of super maxis ever seen in one race. Depending on conditions, any of the 100 footers could take line honours, it threatens be one of the best races in the history of the event,” Cooney stated today.

Jim Cooney is the Chairman and majority shareholder of TCI Renewables, a professional wind energy development company headquartered in Oxford, UK. Jim is a Chartered Engineer who co-founded TCI in Australia in 1996 and successfully developed the business to span the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada and the United States. He is an accomplished industry leader in renewable energy, specialising in wind energy, and under his direction TCI Renewables has developed some of the largest wind farms in the UK.  In 2005 Jim was honoured with the prestigious Ernst & Young Australian Entrepreneur of the Year.  He holds degrees from the University of Sydney, University of London and Imperial College, London.

LDV Comanche will continue to carry the colours of the Chinese vehicle manufacturer LDV, which is using the yacht and the race as part of the launch of  its new LDV T60 Ute.

The crew on LDV Comanche reads like a who’s who of the sailing world and following the change in ownership, will gain some new names. As well as Jim Cooney, the crew will now include Jim’s son and daughter Julia and James Cooney alongside Waratah Jeremy Tilse.

The stellar crew includes three time America’s cup winner and 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Winner Jimmy Spithill (Australia); eleven time winner of the Transpac race and round the world race winner Stan Honey (USA); round the world race winner Brad Jackson (New Zealand); Olympic and round the world sailor Dirk de Ridder (Netherlands); multiple America’s Cup sailor and Rolex Sydney Hobart winner Warwick Fleury (New Zealand); America’s Cup sailor, Nick Burridge (New Zealand); Olympic, America’s Cup and round the world sailor Shannon Falcone (UK); Rolex Sydney Hobart race winner on Comanche, John Von Schwarz (USA); six time round the world racer and seven time America’s Cup competitor, Tony ‘Trae’ Rae (New Zealand); Sydney Hobart winner on board Comanche and the sport’s world renowned ‘Mr Fixit’, Casey Smith (Australia); Extreme sailing expert Stuart Pollard (Australia); round the world sailor Justin Slattery (Ireland); Rolex Sydney Hobart winner on Comanche Keats Keeley (USA); round the world sailor David Rolfe (Australia); and project manager Tim Hackett who has managed some of the leading teams around the world.

Launched as ‘Comanche’, and now called ‘LDV Comanche’ for the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, the 100 foot maxi racing yacht holds a remarkable list of records, all of which show her to be the ideal yacht for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. The yacht holds the 24 hour sailing distance record for monohulls and the trans-Atlantic crossing record of 5 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds. In addition to the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, she won the no less tough Fastnet Race. This year she smashed the monohull record in the Transpac race with an average speed of 20.2 knots.

‘LDV Comanche’s nickname, “the aircraft carrier”, gives away what sets her apart from two of her rivals, Black Jack and Wild Oats XI. Indeed, her beam at the stern is so great it could accommodate both Black Jack and Wild Oats XI. Her optimum heel angle is anything over 20 degrees and she has the same wetted surface as Wild Oats XI at 25 degrees. The 46 metre/150 feet high mast sits directly above the canting keel and she designed deliberately to be able to – just – slip under Sydney Harbour Bridge. The mast has a static load of 75 tonnes and 150 tonnes under sail, or, to put it another way, the same weight as 80 LDV T60 Utes hanging from the mast.

Suspended from the mast is a 410 square metre mainsail, which will carry a massive picture of an LDV T60 Ute for the race. In downwind configuration, this expands to a massive 1022 square metres and the largest spinnaker is 1100 square metres. Under the yacht is a canting keel that may be swung out 35 degrees in either direction in as little as 25 seconds, while there is space on either side of the hull for 6.5 tonnes of water in the ballast tanks.

ALSO ON MYSAILING

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The Transat CIC starts on Sunday

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David Linger finishes in 6th place

RORC publish Admiral’s Cup Notice of Race

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Day 3 at the Last Chance Regatta

Last Chance Regatta

7th Foiling Awards – WASZP

Maiden wins Ocean Globe Race

Scotty Dickson Wins Ficker Cup

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New 100ft supermaxi Comanche arrives in Australia to prepare for the Sydney-Hobart Race

• Elaine Bunting
• December 2, 2014

Comanche, the latest supermaxi speed record contender, is getting ready for her first big test

The superfast 100ft maxi designed as a record breaker for Netscape founder Jim Clark and his wife, Kristy, has arrived in Australia by ship in preparation for the Sydney-Hobart Race.

Comanche, one of five eye-catching 100ft super maxis competing in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race, is to begin final preparations to take the start line on 26 December. The boat will be prepared for competition with the initial goal of racing in the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge in Sydney Harbour on December 9th.

Skipper of Comanche, well-known racing sailor and president of North Sails, Ken Read, commented: “It’s fantastic to see Comanche arrive in Australia as we build towards the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race. This is the culmination of a two-year project for Jim and Kristy, and we know that this racing machine has been designed and built for speed.

“We got a taste of what she’s capable of sailing down the East coast of the States before we shipped her here – and learnt there is a huge amount of potential but that we have a lot to learn as well and need to respect her raw power. Whatever happens, it’s going to be quite a ride – and we can’t wait to get Comanche sailing in Sydney.”

Comanche has been designed and built to break records and win prestigious yacht races. The Rolex Sydney to Hobart will be her racing debut as she lines up against four other 100ft maxis, which should make for compelling viewing in the 70th edition of the race. The new generation of design and construction is intended to push the boundaries of technology and performance.

Comanche is the brainchild of renowned yacht design teams VPLP and Verdier Yacht Design in partnership with Southern Spars and North Sails Design Services, which worked as part of an integrated team to develop the hull, mast and sails of this cutting edge machine.

The boat’s 150ft mast that will carry a promotion for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), a charity closely supported by Kristy Hinze Clark. The AWC owns and manages more than three million hectares of land in Australia, protecting more native wildlife than any other organisation.

Average Sailboat Mast Height

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

August 30, 2022

‍ Sailboat masts are known to be quite tall, but how tall do they get? The answer varies on rig type, boat size, and design attributes.

Small sailboats, under 20 feet in length, rarely have masts taller than 20 ft or shorter than 8 ft. Sailboats between 20 and 30 feet have masts up to 30 feet tall, and large 40+ foot sailboats often have masts that exceed 50 feet in height.

In this article, we'll cover the average mast height of various sailboats based on length, and we'll also provide a typical height range. Additionally, we'll compare mast height by rig type. Finally, we'll cover the benefits and disadvantages of tall and short masts.

We sourced the information used in this article from sailboat design guides and the sailing community. Additionally, we analyzed several boats from each length category to determine average mast heights.

Table of contents

‍ Why are Mast Heights Different?

If you spend enough time around marinas, you'll undoubtedly notice the numerous masts that tower high above seemingly minuscule boats. Some are tall and thin, some are short and fat—and many are somewhere in between. So why do sailboat mast heights differ so much?

There are a lot of factors that contribute to mast height, not the least of which is boat size. Obviously, boats need a sail plan proportionate to their length, beam, and displacement in order to be efficient. The type of sail plan varies based on what the boat is used for.

Different rigs use different mast heights, even if the boat underneath is exactly the same. Let's assume we have two identical 30-foot boats. One has a tall mast and a triangular Bermuda rig, while another has a shorter mast with a four-sided rig.

The four-sided sail has a much greater area per foot of height than the triangular sail, so the mast doesn't need to be quite as high. Additionally, shorter masts can be thicker and stay within the same weight limits as a taller mast, so they can be thicker and stronger.

Average Mast Height by Sailboat Length

Now, we'll look at the average mast heights of sailboats by their overall length. We're not considering rig type beyond the fact that the majority of modern sailboats are Bermuda-rigged sloops—we'll get into that later. Here are some averages based on popular sailboats.

As you can see, the average mast height is highly dependent on the length of a sailboat. Most vessels have triangular rigs, which require a taller mast. It also seems as though mast height isn't usually far from the overall length of the boat, at least on tall single-masted vessels.

Why do Racing Sailboats Have Tall Masts?

Racing sailboats are known for their crazy mast heights and long, thin sails. There's a very simple reason for this, and it has to do with efficiency and drag. A taller and thinner sail is much more efficient for speed than a shorter and fatter sail. The same goes with the dimensions of the hull, as fast boats tend to be long and slender.

The science behind sail design is ancient and fascinating. In the 21st century, where the boat market values speed and agility, tall masts with thin triangular rigs are becoming increasingly popular. Short-masted vessels, once a key component of working offshore, are more durable but less common.

Average Mast Height of Multi-Masted Sailboats

Having multiple masts has distinct advantages, especially for cruising. Multi-masted sailboats are some of the best offshore cruisers ever built, and they are also remarkably durable. One of the main benefits of having multiple masts is that it adds a level of redundancy and increases your ability to finely control the vessel.

Multi-masted sailboats almost always have shorter and thicker masts when compared to similar single-masted vessels. Sailboats with four-sided mainsails, such as many classical schooners, are a particularly extreme example of this.

Gaff-rigged schooner masts are significantly shorter than triangular rig masts, sometimes more than 10 to 20% shorter. It's often the case that these vessels have a topmast that can be raised or lowered to add a triangular topsail, further increasing the area of the large four-sided sail plan.

What Sailboat Rigs Have Tall Masts?

Bermuda rigged sailboats (also known as Marconi rigged sailboats) are the most common tall-masted boats. Triangular rigs are tall because their sail area decreases as it moves up the sail, so they make up for it by adding height.

Fully-rigged ships also have very tall masts. These are the traditional sailing ships that are quite literally called 'tall ships' in the sailing community. They have multiple sails on each mast when fully deployed, and they usually have three or more masts and multiple headsails.

What Sailboat Rigs Have Short Masts?

The gaff rig is a common and classic sailboat rig that uses traditionally shorter masts. The gaff rig uses a square mainsail, which has more lateral area than a triangular mainsail. These vessels often deploy a topsail with or without a mast extension called a topmast.

The lateen rig is also famously simple and short-masted. It uses a triangular sail with spars that fly at an angle to the mast. It is an ancient sailing rig that was extremely common in the early days of civilization, and it served workboats across the world for centuries.

Are Shorter Masts Stronger?

Short masts can be stronger, but they aren't always. It depends on the design of the craft and is more dependent on rig type than the size of the mast itself. The strongest masts are found on gaff-rigged vessels. They are usually short and thick and traditionally made of wood.

The strength of the mast isn't so important when everything is working properly. It begins to matter in the event of a failure, like a broken stay.

A gaff-rigged vessel with a typical mast has a good chance of surviving a snapped stay as the mast can support itself. A Bermuda-rigged vessel, more likely than not, could lose its mast immediately after the standing rigging goes down.

What are Masts Made Of?

Masts are made of many different materials. Traditionally, wood was the mast material of choice. It was strong and lasted a very long time if maintained. Through the production sailboat era, when boatbuilders switched from wood to fiberglass for hulls, sailboat masts were mostly made of aluminum.

Today's high-tech racing sailboats have many more options to choose from. Composite materials, such as carbon fiber, are increasingly common due to their astounding strength-to-weight ratio. Alloy masts are also fairly common. Steel masts exist, but their use is usually confined to small sailboats and dinghies.

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I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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