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hard. The current one-design has proved very resilient, and we learned from that. There have been a few cases of shrouds giving up due to fatigue with boats being used at 120 per cent of their potential, so once again that was a factor to take into account. Anticipation has been a keyword in our thought process.’ Taking a more detailed look at the VPLP Figaro, let us start with hull shapes. ‘In a nutshell,’ says Vincent , ‘this shape allows us to get, without ballast, the same power as a Figaro 2 fully ballasted. ‘We wanted to produce a homogenous hull, capable of good upwind performance, hence the sharp overall lines. Power reaching is obviously a point of sail we considered carefully, as you can see all along the hull, from the bow to the stern – the F3 is 2cm wider than its predecessor, while being 40cm shorter. ‘The aft sections have been designed to show some rocker at


of heel angle, thus minimising drag when sailing down- wind. Then the transom shape allows the boat to sit nicely on her derrière, lifting her bow when powered up under kite.’ It may come as a surprise that this new incarnation of the Figaro one-design is actually smaller than the previous one, yet it was part of the design brief put together by the class and the yard… ‘for rather simple cost reasons’, says Vincent. ‘The idea was to define the minimum length to be able to race transats safely, and stick to it. However, all things considered, length is not necessarily the number one factor when it comes to cost…’


100 to 150


Going back to our ‘visible elements of modernity’, a quick glance at VPLP’s early sketches suffices to spot the typical ‘mast-set-quite- far-back’ factor that migrated from multis to monos and is now a landmark feature of ocean racers. ‘We have a carbon spar devoid of an adjustable single backstay; swept-back spreaders and running


50 SEAHORSE


backstays are the choice we made, but it’s important to stress that with the aft-swept spreaders you can gybe without touching the backstays if need be – this was another requirement. ‘In terms of sail area the F3 is in the same ballpark as the current boat, to make sure we did not produce a boat that would require more physical force to operate: the Figaro class needs to remain accessible if it is to continue to attract a wide variety of sailors.’ One important departure from tradition is the disappearance of the spinnaker pole, as downwind sails will from 2019 onwards consist of As and gennakers. For those of us who’ve had the privilege of watching the likes of Gildas Morvan gybe their pole singlehanded in 30kt+ of breeze (and survive the manoeuvre), it could be construed as the end of an era… yet nostalgia only generates stasis, so to hell with it, if you excuse our French.


‘The inspiration comes from the Imocas,’ explains Vincent, which shows in the shape of the bow as well. ‘If you want a power ful hull you must make it powerful from stern to bow,’ adds the designer. ‘It’s important to have volume in the front sections when heeled over so that the boat does not float diagonally and become unbal- anced. It helps the keel work too, as the fin remains better aligned. But this makes sense only if the bow can be lifted up when needed, hence the aft sections.’


On a more mundane note, the reverse stem bow shape is undoubtedly contemporary, and that ticks the ‘visibility’ box as well… ‘The deck layout differs a bit from that of the F2,’ emphasises Vincent, ‘as we’ve decided to go for four winches in the cockpit, as opposed to having two sitting atop the coachroof. But they are all interchangeable and can be used for manoeuvres independently, thanks to their positioning.


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