It’s all about the resale
Last month Antoine Cardin explained how Judel-Vrolijk developed a less than stellar production-built IRC design into a consistent offshore winner. This month he takes a wider look at some of the other ways to succeed in that mid-sized IRC band
Last month we discussed the successful IRC 42 Ino, launched nine years ago as an HH42 but since given a primarily offshore performance profile that we are happy to say proved successful. Ino had also com- peted in the purely inshore Fast40 class with patchy success due to her less extreme design and build. We also observed, at the opposite end of the scale from the inshore Fast40, the largely unrecognised IRC potential of the most offshore-oriented of all the 40-footers… the Class40 itself. So at one end we have the narrow, wind-
ward-leeward Fast40 specials and at the other the offshore monsters of the Class40. And, as it happens, sitting in the middle of these two we have the HH42 Ino, which it turns out is an almost perfect overlay of the two types when the various characteristics are averaged out. And of course it works. However, our post-Fastnet analysis has also shown that while a Class40 would
48 SEAHORSE
often be a bit of a disaster on an inshore VMG course, it still proves to be very com- petitive racing offshore against conven- tional IRC designs such as Ino and others. Forty foot is an interesting size for the
designer because currently we have several distinct solutions but as yet nothing that would be a standout performer across a balanced inshore-offshore regatta series (such as the old Admiral’s Cup). That said, today’s JPK designs remain
the mid-sized benchmark in IRC, yet competing under IRC a good Class40 will usually beat a JPK in typical Fastnet or cross-Channel conditions. And yet few IRC sailors seem to have noticed what a well- sailed Class40 could do in their fleet. Of course a Class40 would need to
accept certain constraints dictated by the IRC rule and the regulations for a typical RORC or UNCL offshore race. These con- straints may bring a marginal performance cost but complying would make at most a small dent in IRC competitiveness. For example, a Class40 racing under
IRC would no longer be able to stack sails and spares, although it can continue to employ water ballast by taking what is now a modest rating penalty; more likely extra crew would be taken on to avoid the rating cost completely. For a serious go at
IRC you would also make other small opti- misations; it would be better to substitute an IRC-style mainsail with a narrower head profile than the big Class40 square-head. Now, however, you have a very promis-
ing candidate for the biggest IRC prizes – such as the Fastnet, Morgan Cup and Caribbean 600 – though with a smaller main you would score less well in the Class40 division itself. You have to choose. Our office has talked to several poten-
tial clients about a Judel-Vrolijk Class40 and at least one has expressed an interest in also taking part in RORC races under IRC. Nothing is paid for but conversations are moving forward. Class40 itself is not easy to break into.
This is not about proving our design skills, but because it has become the norm in this class for skippers to come together and build multiple examples of a new design to reduce tooling costs. Coming in cold, as it were, this is not the case for us. But we are definitely able to design a boat ready for the next Route du Rhum and we have a shipyard able to build it in time. So, with our interest, we naturally fol-
lowed the new Class40 launch from VPLP. And we made some quick observations of where we felt this successful French office, with their build partner Multiplast, have
INGRID ABERY
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