Sail area / displacement
How much sail the boat carries for its weight — its power in light air.
- 29.4· Racing
How it is worked out
sail area (ft²) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅔
published upwind sail area

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4-DSC_0154-1920x1080-LR — Spirit Yachts
* A standard reference image, not the actual boat — shown to help visualise this model's published dimensions.
From the published figures: LOA 9.2 m · upwind 39.6 m²
From the published figures: CE Category C · LOA 9.2 m
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.
Classic yacht-design ratios worked out from the builder's published figures, each shown against the bands designers read it by.
How much sail the boat carries for its weight — its power in light air.
sail area (ft²) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅔
published upwind sail area
How heavy the boat is for its waterline length. Lower is lighter and quicker; higher is steadier and roomier.
displacement (long tons) ÷ (0.01 × waterline length in ft)³
The share of the weight carried in the keel — a rough guide to stiffness, though how deep that weight sits matters as much.
ballast ÷ displacement × 100
Ted Brewer's measure of how gently a boat moves in a seaway. Higher means a slower, easier motion.
displacement (lb) ÷ (0.65 × (0.7 × LWL + 0.3 × LOA) × beam^1.333), lengths in ft
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.
beam (ft) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅓
Roughly the speed a displacement hull reaches before it has to climb its own bow wave.
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.
Certified CE design category C (Inshore): the wind and waves the EU Recreational Craft Directive says this boat is designed to take.
Sheltered waters
Inshore
Offshore
Ocean
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.
Figures read fromspirityachts.com/yacht/spirit-r30/· Specification & Featuresread 10/17/2026
1 drawing from the builder's page: general arrangement, sail plan, profile.

Spirit-Yachts-R30-General-Arrangement — Spirit Yachts
Custom
British custom builder of modern-classic wooden sail and motor yachts, founded in 1993 by designer Sean McMillan and Mick Newman at Ipswich, Suffolk — 13 designs from the 9.2-metre R30 day sailer to the 22.8-metre R74, each built to order in wood/epoxy.
Spirit Yachts was founded in 1993 by Sean McMillan, a lifelong sailor and yacht designer, in partnership with his friend Mick Newman. After thousands of sea miles delivering boats around the globe, the yard says, the two had a clear vision: to build the most beautiful yachts that perform on the water. Sean McMillan built the company into what it calls a worldwide success, raced his own Spirit 52 on the classic circuit and today consults on projects from his design studio in the Suffolk countryside. In 2006 a Spirit 54 was chosen for the Bond film Casino Royale; handbuilt in Suffolk, she was shipped to the Bahamas, sailed through Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands for filming and then to Venice, where, the yard says, she became the first sailing yacht to go up the Grand Canal in 300 years. In 2021 a Spirit 46, one of the original Spirit designs, appeared in No Time To Die. Today the company, led by managing director Karen Underwood with lead designer Tom Smith, designs and builds custom wooden sail and motor yachts at waterside premises in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Visit brand pageEvery model Spirit Yachts publishes, by length — where this one sits in the range.
Saffier Yachts
LOA: 9.2 m
Saffier Yachts
LOA: 8.5 m