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Saffier Yachts

Saffier SE 28 Leopard

In production
Saffier SE 28 Leopard — photo 1

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Saffier Yachts

Design

Designer
D. Hennevanger | Kees van de Stadt

Summary

30.2 ftLOA42.7 ftAIR DRAFT5.6 ftDRAFT8.9 ftBEAM
Sailing MonohullSailCE C
Length overall
30.2 ft
Beam
8.9 ft
Draft
4.3–5.6 ft
Air draft
42.7 ft
Displacement
4,850 lb
Cabins
1
Berths
4

* A standard reference image, not the actual boat — shown to help visualise this model's published dimensions.

Best Suited For

Tags are derived from certified class, length, sail area, accommodation and tankage using the criteria described on the Sources page; an editor may add or remove one.

Sailing Ratios

Classic yacht-design ratios worked out from the builder's published figures, each shown against the bands designers read it by.

Sail area / displacement

How much sail the boat carries for its weight — its power in light air.

ModestCruiserPerformanceRacing162024Saffier SE 28 Leopard: 25.2
  • 25.2· Racing
How it is worked out

sail area (ft²) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅔

mainsail + genoa, added up

Displacement / length

How heavy the boat is for its waterline length. Lower is lighter and quicker; higher is steadier and roomier.

UltralightLightModerateHeavyVery heavy100180270350
  • not published: waterline length
How it is worked out

displacement (long tons) ÷ (0.01 × waterline length in ft)³

Ballast ratio

The share of the weight carried in the keel — a rough guide to stiffness, though how deep that weight sits matters as much.

LowModerateHigh3040Saffier SE 28 Leopard: 34
  • 34· Moderate
How it is worked out

ballast ÷ displacement × 100

Comfort ratio

Ted Brewer's measure of how gently a boat moves in a seaway. Higher means a slower, easier motion.

LightCoastalModerate offshoreHeavy offshoreVery heavy20304050
  • not published: waterline length
How it is worked out

displacement (lb) ÷ (0.65 × (0.7 × LWL + 0.3 × LOA) × beam^1.333), lengths in ft

Capsize screening

A guide from the inquiry after the 1979 Fastnet race: below 2 was taken as suited to ocean passages. It ignores hull shape and where the ballast sits.

Below 22 and above2Saffier SE 28 Leopard: 2.09
  • 2.09· 2 and above
How it is worked out

beam (ft) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅓

Hull speed

Roughly the speed a displacement hull reaches before it has to climb its own bow wave.

  • not published: waterline length
How it is worked out

1.34 × √(waterline length in ft), in knots

Most builders publish a light displacement. The ratios were defined on a loaded boat, so every boat here reads a little lighter than a surveyor's figure would — all alike, which keeps them comparable.

Tanks

What the builder publishes about how fast, how strong and how much the boat carries.

Fuel and water on one scale: a tank twice the height holds twice as much.

  • Fuel9 gal
    Water12 gal

    3 gal of water per berth

Design Category

Certified CE design category C (Inshore): the wind and waves the EU Recreational Craft Directive says this boat is designed to take.

  1. D

    Sheltered waters

    Wind
    up to Beaufort 4
    Waves
    up to 0.3 m
  2. CThis boat

    Inshore

    Wind
    up to Beaufort 6
    Waves
    up to 2 m
  3. B

    Offshore

    Wind
    up to Beaufort 8
    Waves
    up to 4 m
  4. A

    Ocean

    Wind
    above Beaufort 8
    Waves
    above 4 m

Design limits set by the EU Recreational Craft Directive (2013/53/EU), in significant wave height. A category covers the conditions of those below it. It is the limit the boat was designed to, not a promise that it is safe in any conditions within it — that judgement stays with the skipper.

A figure marked with a quote mark was read from the builder's page. Open it for the exact line, the page and the date.

Dimensions

LOA
30.2 ft (9.2 m)
Hull length
27.6 ft (8.4 m)
LWL
—
Beam
8.9 ft (2.7 m)
Draft (min)
4.3 ft (1.3 m)
Draft (max)
5.6 ft (1.7 m)
Air draft
42.7 ft (13 m)
Displacement
4,850 lb (2,200 kg)
Ballast
1,653 lb (750 kg)
Cabins
1
Heads
1
Berths
4

Sail Plan

Main sail
280 ft² (26 m²)
Jib
151 ft² (14 m²)
Genoa
172 ft² (16 m²)
Sail area
—
Downwind sail area
743 ft² (69 m²)
Rig type
—

Engine and Tanks

Engine
15 hp
Engine count
1
Engine manufacturer
—
Propulsion type
—
Fuel capacity
9 gal (32.5 L)
Fresh water capacity
12 gal (45 L)
Black water capacity
—

Construction

Mast material
—
Hull material
Vacuum infused fibreglass
Deck material
—
Keel type
—
Rudder type
—
Steering wheels
—

Builder's Own Figures

Number of spreaders
2
Code zero area
46m2

Figures read fromthe builder's page

Videos

External content

Films of this model from the builder's official YouTube channel (Saffier Yachts). They are the builder's own; the figures above are the reference.

Videos whose title names the Saffier SE 28 Leopard, from the channel the builder's site links; last checked 9/30/2026. Playing one loads YouTube's player, which may set cookies.

About Saffier Yachts

Premium production

Dutch builder of performance daysailers and small cruising yachts, based in IJmuiden since the Hennevanger family launched the first Saffier model in 1999.

The Saffier story begins in Sydney, where Richard Hennevanger opened his first yard in 1960 and built the Santana 22 and 26; he worked on Gretel 2, the 12-Metre that in 1970 became the first non-US challenger to win an America's Cup race, and the family sailed around the world between 1972 and 1980 before the windsurfing successes of the 1980s. The yard settled at the new IJmuiden marina in the Netherlands in 1997, took its first show orders in 1998, and passed to the next generation, Dennis and Dean Hennevanger, in 2001 with the Saffier 8 metre, fifty of which were built. The Saffier Se 26 of 2008, one of the first 26-footers with a wheel and every line led to the helm, won European Yacht of the Year and sold over 140; the SE 23 of 2010 won it again unanimously in 2011 as the first Saffier with electric propulsion. The SE 27 Leisure took the award in 2021 and the SE 33 Life in 2022 -- the first yard ever to win two years running -- the SE 24 Lite won it in 2024, a new shipyard opened in 2022, and the SL46 MED of 2024 opened a luxury line.

Visit brand page

The Saffier Yachts Range

Every model Saffier Yachts publishes, by length — where this one sits in the range.

  1. Saffier SL 4648.9 ft
  2. Saffier SE 38 Leader41 ft
  3. Saffier SE 33 Life36.1 ft
  4. Saffier SE 28 Leopard· this model30.2 ft
  5. Saffier SC 8m Cabin27.9 ft
  6. Saffier SE 24 Lite26.2 ft
  7. Saffier SC 6.50 Cruise23 ft

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