Design


All the performance with a bit more comfort


A new semi-custom racer from judel/vrolijk and Oceantec takes the Class40 concept back to its roots… with an extensively optimised IRC rating and a super-lightweight interior


C


lass40 has moved on from its initial concept. What started as a class offering short- handed offshore racing for top-tier amateur sailors on


moderate budgets has morphed into a very successful class of completely stripped-out racing machines, campaigned with serious money, whose primary function is to provide a stepping stone for professional solo sailors en route to rock star status in Imoca 60s. So where do you go if you want a boat that truly


66 SEAHORSE


reflects the original spirit of Class40, with the same level of performance as the top boats in that fleet, but also a competitive IRC rating plus the bare minimum of accommodation for weekend cruising with family and friends? Two experienced Class40 racers couldn’t find anything quite like that so they asked judel/vrolijk to design it for them. Is there really a gap in the market?


There are plenty of options aimed at sailors who want a high-performance boat but they all assume that the buyer expects


a high standard of luxury. Exotic materials like Nomex and prepreg carbon partially defray the weight of a posh interior but that sort of boat inevitably ends up being complex, loaded with sophisticated systems – yet still unable to match the boatspeed of a far simpler Class40 built in foam-cored fibreglass. And that, in essence, is the rationale behind the new j/v43. ‘The clients approached us because


they knew we were already looking at this kind of concept,’ says Antoine Cardin of


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