Opposite: with a dry ship displacement of 9.5 tonnes Norbert Sedlacek’s ‘sailing volcano’ is at least 1,500kg heavier than a current Imoca of the same length, but the extra weight is primarily down to the reinforcement required for a yacht that will bounce off the ice floes of the Northwest Passage… along with the structure for 73 flotation compartments. Another slice of additional weight is down to the materials used, with a core (below) of sustainable balsa replacing the Nomex in all today’s Imocas. The resin used is also recyclable. The construction matrix was trialled in the 16ft Fipofix (above left) which has now completed two solo atlantic crossings…
the finishers… but out of 30 starters. His first attempt at this ambitious
two solo transatlantic crossings in the hands of Sedlacek’s son Henry in 2014. ‘Building this boat taught us a lot about
the fibres and the laminating technique,’ said Sedlacek. ‘Getting the fibres is one thing, but creating a woven material quite another. Then there is the issue of making the resin matrix work. And while we were successful with Fipofix it was clear that the industry needed to see it used on a bigger boat.’ Designed by Marion Koch and Vincent
Lebailly, the Open 60 AAL follows a similar style to that of the modern Imoca 60, yet the boat has not been designed to line up in this fleet. Indeed, three major differences leave her some way outside the Imoca class rules. The first is her three daggerboards,
which breach the maximum appendage rule in the Imoca class. ‘Because this boat will go through ice we decided to fit three daggerboards, one on the centreline and one either side to provide a cage of protec- tion for the keel,’ said Koch. ‘The mast profile that we used was
designed before the latest Imoca rules were written and our section is too big, plus we have a welded keel fin rather than a milled one.’ But it is not just rule compliance issues that set this boat apart from a typical Imoca. To cope with ice Sedlacek’s 60-footer
has an inner hull liner that includes 73 (sic) watertight sub-divisions to provide protec- tion in the event of a serious collision with ice. The largest compartment is just 110 litres. ‘This aspect of the construction
probably adds around 800kg but it does mean that we have a boat that is unsink- able,’ said Koch. When it came to the fit-out the target was
to produce a boat with zero emissions that would produce its own energy throughout the trip. No fuel will be carried aboard and the galley will be electric. To achieve suffi- cient power for the trip two 15kW Ocean- volt electric engines also act as hydro gener- ators when the boat is sailing. (When in motoring mode they are powered by a 14kW battery pack). In addition, 12 large solar panels supplement the hydro power to complete the zero-emission package. The concept of fossil fuel-free circum-
navigations is gathering momentum. One of the most recent was during the last Vendée Globe when Conrad Colman com- pleted the race using no fossil fuels and used the same Oceanvolt electric power- generation system. Since then various refinements to the
system have been developed and incorpo- rated for Sedlacek’s expedition which include the ability to change the pitch of the blades depending on the speed of the boat, to maximise the efficiency of the hydro generators. While this trip will be his longest, Sed-
lacek is no stranger to solo circumnaviga- tions… this will be his third. His first was aboard his home-built 26-footer in 1996, a trip that took him two years to complete. In 2009 he completed the Vendée Globe
aboard his bright yellow Imoca 60 Nautic- sport-Kapsch, finishing 11th and last of
figure-of-eight trip around the world was last year, but he was forced to abort his trip off the west coast of Ireland with tech- nical problems. ‘Last year was a big chal- lenge and there was quite a lot on our list that was not complete. So after some heavy weather at the beginning I thought rather than break gear let’s go back and sort the boat properly, which is what we’ve done,’ said Sedlacek. ‘We have now around 4,500 miles of
testing including a trip to the Azores and back and we haven’t broken anything major. But far and away the biggest chal- lenge for me and for the materials will be the Northwest Passage. There is so little knowledge about sailing through this area. I won’t be using any power other than sail, but if I can complete this part of the trip I think I stand a good chance for the rest.’ His campaign clearly fits into the profile
of an ambitious and inquisitive offshore solo sailor, but the project is also part of a longer-term vision for Innovation Yachts. ‘We are trying in many ways to move on more generally to building greener boats using a greener construction that makes less impact on the environment,’ said Koch. ‘We’re doing our best to get there… and with every project we’re getting a little cleaner and a little smarter. ‘At the moment we are working on a
56-footer as well as a design study for a 100ft yacht. This bigger yacht is quite a challenge as you need a lot of power at this size, so this boat will be more of a hybrid but still with as much hydro generation as is possible.’ So when Sedlacek sets off in his innova-
tive 60-footer built from volcanic fibres on his quest to complete a 34,000-mile solo trip around the world unaided, there will be plenty of opportunities for headlines. If he succeeds the underlying achievement could have an even bigger impact.
SEAHORSE 59
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