Being relatively new to the XOD fleet, I’ve been interested in listening to various theories about which boats and builders are best, and why. Then I got thinking, we have detailed results going back to 1977, why not crunch the numbers and see what the data says? So, here’s my effort at doing that. After a few winter hours entering in results from 1977 to present-day into Sailwave, here’s what I’ve come up with. (Disclaimer: This has not been audited externally, and is just for fun…)
Most wins (by boat) since 1977
| Boat | SailNo | Builder | Appearances since 1977 | 1st | Win % |
| Lass | 80 | Woodnutt | 22 | 7 | 32% |
| Lone Star | 119 | Burne’s | 35 | 6 | 17% |
| Wenda | 71 | Napier | 24 | 3 | 13% |
| Red Coral | 57 | Newman | 9 | 1 | 11% |
| Heyday | 173 | Lallow | 28 | 3 | 11% |
| Tortoise | 165 | Lallow | 39 | 4 | 10% |
| Astralita | 91 | Woodnutt | 30 | 3 | 10% |
| Swallow | 166 | Lallow | 33 | 3 | 9% |
| Anitra | 52 | Woodnutt | 36 | 3 | 8% |
Most Podium (top 3) Finishes since 1977
| Boat | SailNo | Builder | Appearances since 1977 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Podiums | Podium Percentage |
| Lass | 80 | Woodnutt | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 36% |
| Lone Star | 119 | Burne’s | 35 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 37% |
| Wenda | 71 | Napier | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 17% |
| Red Coral | 57 | Newman | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 56% |
| Heyday | 173 | Lallow | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 21% |
| Tortoise | 165 | Lallow | 39 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 15% |
| Astralita | 91 | Woodnutt | 30 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 17% |
| Swallow | 166 | Lallow | 33 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 21% |
| Anitra | 52 | Woodnutt | 36 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 19% |
What if we look at the competition at Cowes Week in terms of boat-builder?
Boatbuilders by Cowes Week Appearances since 1977
| Builder | Appearances since 1977 |
| Woodnutt | 1117 |
| Lallow | 732 |
| Hamper | 711 |
| Newman | 312 |
| Burne’s | 242 |
| Latham | 92 |
| Berthon | 52 |
| Souter | 36 |
| Napier | 24 |
| Kemp | 20 |
| Feltham | 17 |
| Percy See | 16 |
| Perry | 12 |
| Wilson | 3 |
Wins by Boatbuilder at Cowes Week since 1977
| Builder | Wins |
| Woodnutt | 18 |
| Lallow | 14 |
| Burne’s | 6 |
| Napier | 3 |
| Hamper | 2 |
| Latham | 2 |
| Newman | 2 |
However, if you’re trying to answer the question “which builder has been most successful at Cowes Week” you need to normalize for the fact that there are far more boats from some builders than others. So, the final table is top3 (podium finishes) by appearance as a percentage.
Podium Finish Percentage by Boatbuilders at Cowes Week since 1977
| Builder | Appearances | Podiums | Podium Percentage |
| Napier | 24 | 4 | 16.7% |
| Latham | 92 | 10 | 10.9% |
| Burne’s | 242 | 23 | 9.5% |
| Newman | 312 | 17 | 5.4% |
| Lallow | 732 | 35 | 4.8% |
| Woodnutt | 1117 | 46 | 4.1% |
| Hamper | 711 | 6 | 0.8% |
I hope you enjoyed this. If you’re interested in the raw data I’ve used, it’s available here: Cowes Week Finishes 1977-2024
—
Shaun Norris
18 May 2025