A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least 70feet in length.
The term maxi originated with the International Offshore Rule (IOR) rating system, which in the 1970s and 1980s measured offshore racing yachts and applied a single-number rating to each boat. This number was approximately equal to the sailing waterline length in feet, plus or minus speed enhancing or reducing factors in the design. A yacht with a rating of 40feet was generally about 47feetto52feetft (toft) in length overall. The IOR had upper and lower rating limits of 16feet and 70feet, so a yacht designed and built to exceed the maximum limit of 70feet rating was known as a maxi.
The IOR Maxis were generally 75feetto82feetft (toft) long overall, and raced boat-for-boat without handicap, unlike the rest of the IOR fleet which raced with a time correction factor depending on the boat's rating.In the 1980s they were the most glamorous, exciting, expensive and high-visibility racing yachts in the world, with regular appearances at most of the great races such as the Fastnet, Sydney-Hobart, Bermuda Race, and their own private series of regattas in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. The maxis were also prominent as line honour contestants in the Whitbread Round the World Race from 1973 to 1993.
Modern maxi yachts are usually custom-designed and built to the IRC rule but regardless of handicap in order to achieve line honour victories. In 2001 however two Reichel/Pugh boats were built to the "maxZ86" class in order to match boat speed evenly, but the class did not generate further interest.For the 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia increased the IRC rating upper limit for length of hull from, and most yachts have been lengthened to this size. In order to achieve higher speeds, maxi yachts were early adopters of modern materials and technologies such as carbon fibre, thermoformed sails, rotating wingmasts, water ballasts and canting keels. Previous smaller maxi yachts are still raced with corrected time class victories in mind whilst the "mini-maxi" yachts now have a class of their own. Maxi yachts are raced in both inshore and offshore races.
| Yacht | Year | data-sort-type=number | LOA | Designer | Shipyard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stealth | 1996 | Green Marine | Owned by Gianni Agnelli, won the 2001 Fastnet race | |||
| Cap Gemini | 1999 | Pendennis | Renamed Hyundai, now Light One | |||
| Leopard 2 | 2000 | Green Marine | Now Maria Alba II | |||
| Alfa Romeo I | 2002 |  McConaghy Boats | Renamed Shockwave, then Rambler, now La Bête, won the 2002 Sydney-Hobart, the 2003 Fastnet race and four Middle Sea Races | |||
| Bols | 2003 | Hugh Welbourn |  Boatspeed | Now Med Spirit | ||
| Zana | 2003 | Brett Bakewell-White | Hakes Marine | Renamed Konica Minolta, now Lahana, redesigned in 2014 at the TP Cookson yard as Rio 100 | ||
| Skandia | 2003 | Don Jones, Fred Barrett | Hart Marine | Triple Moving Foil, now Wild Thing, won the 2003 Sydney-Hobart | ||
| Mari-Cha IV | 2003 | data-sort-type=number | Schooner built for Robert Warren Miller, redesigned in 2015 at Royal Huisman as cruiser Samurai | |||
| Nicorette III | 2004 | Alex Simonis, Marten Voogd | Boatspeed | Triple Moving Foil owned by Ludde Ingvall, Renamed Aapt, then YuuZoo, won the 2004 Sydney-Hobart. Redesigned in 2016 by Brett Bakewell-White at the Southern Ocean Marine yard as CQS | ||
| 2004 | Edward George Dubois | McConaghy Boats | Canting Ballast Twin Foil, purchased in 2021 by Meridian Capital. Won 2004 and 2008 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, 2010 Newport Bermuda Race, 2011 Fort Lauderdale Montego Bay Race, 2011 Antigua Sailing Week, 2012 and 2014 Rolex China Sea Race - including line honors and race record, 2013 Hong Kong Vietnam Race (record), 2014 Okinawa Tokai Race (record), 2015 Subic Bay Boracay Race (record) | |||
| Maximus | 2005 | Greg Elliott, Clay Oliver | TP Cookson | Canting Ballast Twin Foil. Renamed Investec Loyal. Redesigned in 2014 by Andrew Dovell at the Innovation Composite yard as Ragamuffin 100ft. Now Scallywag. Won the 2005 Fastnet race and the 2011 Sydney-Hobart | ||
| Alfa Romeo II | 2005 | McConaghy Boats | Canting Ballast Twin Foil, now Black Jack IV, won the 2009 Transpac, the 2009 Sydney-Hobart and three Middle Sea Races | |||
| Wild Oats XI | 2005 | McConaghy Boats | Development of Alfa Romeo II, now and completely modernised, won eight Sydney-Hobarts (Line Honours) and the 2015 Transpac | |||
| Leopard 3 | 2007 | McConaghy Boats | Now, won two Fastnet races and the 2009 Middle Sea Race | |||
| Infotrack | 2008 | TP Cookson | Renamed Virgin Money, Rambler 100, Perpetual Loyal, and now Infotrack, won the 2011 Caribbean 600, the 2011 Newport-Lizard Point race and the 2016 Sydney-Hobart | |||
| Rambler 88 | 2014 | Owned by George David, won the 2015 Middle Sea Race | ||||
| Comanche | 2014 | Holder of the New York-Lizard Point monohull record and the 24-hour record, winner of the 2017 and 2019 Sydney-Hobart |