Paul Cayar
Rob Weiland
Life at 40
Racing in the 40ft monohull range does not present a straightforward picture right now. Farr40, Soto40 and RC44 are all shrinking after many years of success and more recent classes, bar the Class40, have not found their stride yet. This might result in upgrading by existing classes or even creating new ones? Traditionally 40ft
appeals, so which boxes should a 40ft boat or rule tick if we look ahead to 2020-2025? Typically already now at this size one-design is the obvious choice
– costs to build one-off are relatively high and not many boatyards are interested in building at this size. It takes at least 10 boats to guarantee good racing, more like 15 boats to look ahead with con- fidence. Below 10 boats it will be a struggle to keep up the momen- tum and certainly to create the confidence it requires to join a class. At 40ft it is quite different to position a boat from the 36/37ft
range… what a difference 4ft make. At 36/37ft it is one-design and class racing for sure, avoiding box-rule and/or handicap racing considerations, like the new IC37 and Swan 36 classes. These two boats show another, relatively recent, choice to make
which is now also valid for the 40ft range – and why not at 50ft too; will it be a TP52 lookalike with a single rudder, fixed keel and no other underwater/part-time above-water appendage frills or shall the boat of the future have whatever appendages it takes to catch the imagination as well as to speed up? The IC37 and Nautor’s Swan’s new one-design also show another
element that modern one-design classes need: powerful support. Whether by the manufacturer, significant yacht clubs or well-known owners, if not a combination of all three.
30 SEAHORSE At 36/37ft, in my opinion, most raceboat owners do not expect
to go offshore any more, which makes life easy for the design depart- ment, but in the 40ft range (39-42ft) I feel that we do not have this ‘luxury’. To complicate things further offshore racing today has arguably more fans than windward-leeward racing. So many more choices to make, even if a boat’s primary use is very clear, as we see with the Class40 or the Melges 40. The Class40 is primarily an offshore boat to race solo and
two-handed as well sometimes fully crewed (six); we see a mix of protos and series boats of quite different levels of preparation... boats which would not work that successfully around the cans. A class that literally fills a gap (between the Mini and the Imoca 60). One can imagine a new class for a Bénéteau Figaro 3 type 40ft
boat, aimed primarily at fully crewed offshore racing as well as being suitable for reasonably proper around-the-cans racing as a concept that could appeal to private owners. In that light I do not think it was wise to restrict the Melges 40
to windward-leeward racing, even more so as its canting-keel concept should work and appeal offshore just fine. This would have meant some compromises but only from a purist point of view. I could easily defend versatility as a higher priority. If one-design should strive for anything it is to offer the same platform, the same tool. As such one-design offers a great opportunity to be versatile and serve a wider audience. Changing subject slightly, I am not confident that TP52 and Super
Series made the right longterm decision when it removed code zero- type sails from the menu, for cost reasons, pushing a potentially very versatile boat somewhat further towards a highly optimised windward-leeward pony.
MARIA MUINA
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