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Reflex Sailboats

Explore Reflex sailboats and the details behind each model. If you are shopping for a Reflex sailboat, we keep an eye out for Used Reflex Sailboats.

Model ↕Listings ↓Year Built ↕LOA (ft) ↕Beam (ft) ↕Draft (ft) ↕Disp. (lbs) ↕Hull ↕Designer ↕Rig ↕Keel ↕
Reflex 383 for sale199937.99 ft12.8 ft7.55 ft13,962 lbsMonohullChristian StimsonFractional SloopBulb

Reflex sailboats: a model name filed as a make

"Reflex" on a sailboat listing names a boat, not a builder. The Reflex 38 is a single one-design offshore raceboat, launched in 1999 and designed and built on the Isle of Wight by Christian Stimson and Harley Race Boats. It reached the market as the "Clipper Reflex 38," a name borrowed from Clipper Ventures plc, the AIM-listed marine events company that commissioned and operated the boats but built none of them. A buyer researching "Reflex" is researching one boat carrying two names, put there by a charter operator rather than a manufacturer.

Origins and ownership

Clipper Ventures plc, chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, formed a corporate sailing division after the 1996 Clipper Round the World Race in response to strong market demand, then launched a corporate events and training division in 1999 to run it. The Reflex 38 fleet, based in the Solent, was used individually or together for corporate hospitality and regatta events under professional instructors. Clipper Ventures later announced plans to sell the Corporate Sailing Division along with its ten-strong racing fleet of Clipper Reflex 38 yachts - the boats' life as a company charter fleet ended with that announcement.

The designers

Knox-Johnston said Clipper Ventures was delighted to commission a British designer, and that the company had been extremely impressed by the number of winning boats both Christian Stimson and Nigel Harley had produced. Harley, principal of Harley Race Boats, built the boat as well as sharing in its design - credit for the Reflex 38 belongs to both men together.

Construction through the eras

boats.com's review described the Reflex 38 as conceived to be a competitive one-design offshore raceboat compliant with all ISO regulations for sailing charter yachts, a combination the builder claimed made it unique among one-design classes. Optimized for the IRC rating rule, it was built to compete in the RORC's offshore race program and in premier inshore events at Cork, Cowes, Torbay and Burnham, and was designed from the outset to serve charter, sail training and corporate entertainment work.

Who Reflex is for

A Reflex 38 was built for hard, rotating use by a training and hospitality fleet, not a single careful owner - engineered to race under IRC while meeting charter-yacht safety rules few one-design boats bothered to reach. That combination, more than any builder's pedigree, is what "Reflex" actually represents.

Frequently asked questions

01Is Reflex a boat brand?+
No. Reflex is the name of a single one-design offshore raceboat, the Reflex 38, launched in 1999 - not a manufacturer. It was designed and built on the Isle of Wight by Christian Stimson and Harley Race Boats, and commissioned and operated as a corporate charter fleet by Clipper Ventures plc, an events company rather than a boatbuilder.
02Who designed and built the Reflex 38?+
Christian Stimson and Harley Race Boats, on the Isle of Wight. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, chairman of the company that commissioned the boat, said Clipper Ventures was delighted to commission a British designer and had been impressed by the number of winning boats both Stimson and Nigel Harley, principal of Harley Race Boats, had produced.
03Why is the boat sometimes listed as a 'Clipper Reflex 38'?+
'Clipper' names the operator, not the builder. Clipper Ventures plc, the AIM-listed marine events company chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, commissioned the fleet and applied its own commercial brand to boats that Harley Race Boats built - Clipper Ventures ran the boats afterward but built none of them.
04What was the Reflex 38 designed to do?+
Race and charter at once. It was conceived as a one-design offshore raceboat optimized for the IRC rating rule, built to compete in the RORC's offshore program and in inshore events at Cork, Cowes, Torbay and Burnham, while also complying with ISO regulations for sailing charter yachts - a combination its builder claimed made it unique among one-design raceboats, since it was designed from the outset to also serve charter, sail training and corporate entertainment work.
05What happened to the Clipper Reflex 38 fleet?+
Clipper Ventures ran the boats through a corporate events and training division launched in 1999, based in the Solent and used individually or as a fleet for corporate hospitality and regatta events under professional instructors. The company later announced plans to sell the Corporate Sailing Division along with its ten-strong racing fleet of Clipper Reflex 38 yachts.