BoatsSoutherly 57 RS

Southerly 57 RS

Solent · Lifting Keel · First built 2011

A 17.72-metre flagship featuring a Solent rig and a lifting keel that allows for deep-water performance and shoal access

Designed by Dubois & Ed Dubois, built by Northshore Yachts.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Lifting Keel

See her sail

The Southerly 57 RS, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Sailing Nervous- Starting Over!

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

Shoal draftDraws 1.07 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a narrow beam gives 38 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 38
CoastalBluewater

1.76 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.76
LightHeavy

181 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 181
EasygoingPowered-up

17.3 — moderate power for her weight; steady, all-round performance.

Sail area / displacement 17.3
TenderStiff

31% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 31%

Light and lively — happiest day-sailing and coastal-hopping in settled weather.

  • Heavier than ~89% of boats her size on file
  • Beamier than ~91% of boats her size on file

Compared with 122 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Southerly 57 RS, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Southerly 57 RS is a 17.7-meter lifting keel sailboat designed by Ed Dubois, built by Northshore Yachts and Discovery Yachts from 2011 onward. It features a Solent rig, a 5.2-meter beam, a 3.3-meter draft, and displaces 26,650 kg. The model was later renamed the Southerly 590 and then the Discovery 57S. Its sail plan includes a 92 m2 mainsail, a 59 m2 self-tacking jib, a 104 m2 furling genoa, and a 188 m2 asymmetric genoa. The boat carries 5,000 kg of fixed ballast and a 3,350 kg keel. At the Annapolis Boat Show, the crew of *Nervous- Starting Over!* attended seminars on diesel engine maintenance, bonding circuits, and corrosion, and explored marine electronics like Navpod housings and Sidekick satellite Wi-Fi routers.1:23

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
31.3%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Solent
Ratios
SA / displacement
17.3
Displacement / length
181.4
Comfort ratio
38.4
Capsize screening
1.76
Hull speed
9.7 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
3200
Hull
Hull type
Lifting Keel
Construction
FG w/poly sandwich deck
Production
Years built
First built 2011
Designer
Dubois, Ed Dubois
Builder
Northshore Yachts, Discovery Yachts

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

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Stadtship 5617.10 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA high-performance aluminum fractional sloop featuring a lifting keel for versatile access to deep and shallow waters
Sailing & Spearfishing in Brazil’s Crystal Waters — Sailing Yabá 2843:43from Sailing Yabá
Little Harbor 6319.46 mSame hull family1.7 m longerA 19.46-metre ketch with a high comfort ratio of 42.56, engineered for stable, long-range offshore cruising
A Sailboat Tour of the Exquisite Little Harbor 63 Ketch1:44from Practical Sailor
Irwin Yachts 65/6819.76 mSame hull family2.0 m longerA Ted Irwin-designed staysail ketch with a centerboard for shoal-draft cruising in a heavy, comfortable displacement
S2, Ep19 How the Sea of Cortez Lures Us7:15from Sailing Into the Mystic
Hylas 7021.21 mSame hull family3.5 m longerA German Frers-designed masthead sloop with a keel-centerboard configuration built for high-performance blue water cruising
Sailing 1000 miles on a 70 ft SAILBOAT! + HYLAS 70 BOAT TOUR (HD) ⛵️ [Ep.69] The Bohemia Journey24:36from El Viaje de Bohemia
Feeling 5516.80 mSame hull family0.9 m shorterA 16.8-metre fractional sloop featuring a 3.6m lifting keel and dual rudders for deep-water performance
Anchoring over the winter in Porto Heli (GR) with a visit to a spooky shipwreck #feeling5520:33from Sailing Suria
Irwin Yachts 5416.46 mSame hull family1.3 m shorterA 16.46-metre staysail ketch with a 39.9 comfort ratio, built since 1988 for stable, long-range cruising
WE WENT TO THE ANNAPOLIS BOAT SHOW - 2025! | EP845:20from Sailing Solé

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