40class boats

Still look like glorified dinghys to me - each to his own I guess! Maybe I'm getting old!! OK so they may go like you know what off a shovel but I still have my doubts! There again there was a time when I'd have been right at the front shouting 'me next' - yep getting old! (but there again I did that with things that deffinately were NOT safe!)

 

Another 40ft boat that pre-exists the 40class is the Jumbo 40, a Design by Pierre Rolland:

http://www.jumbo40.com/article.php3?id_article=14

Pierre, is a Sailor and have learned how to make boats sailing them:

“My graduation as a NA was made basically sailing.”
(4th in the 2003 solo mini-transat)

Looking at his portfolio, It seems that it is not a bad way to graduate :

His race boats had won lots of races and established records. His cruising boats are very innovative and are produced in large numbers by several manufacturers.

http://team.seasailsurf.com/rolland-archi/

This video was made by Olivier Rabine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo5KPR197w8&eurl=

His boat is a Jumbo40 and he is now in the 3th place. That's my hero. Racing solo in one of those fast boats, with more than 50k of wind, is not for the ones with a faint heart, but doing that without an automatic pilot (3 days now) and still managing to overtake the guy that was in front (he was 4th) that’s really something .

He had made a time-table, to be at the rudder (he says that the boat is unstable without nobody at the ruder ) : 4h- 7h, 8h-13h, 14h-19h et 20h-01h.

Crazy guy, I hope he can make it, certainly this one deserves to be at the podium

 

Philip Shark is the 40class winner, on a Pogo.

The average speed was a little bit over 8knots.

As I was hopping, these boats are really fast and they will be a relatively inexpensive alternative for the ones that want to race, but have not the means.

Philip Shark left behind him 1 multihull ORMA 60, 2 Open IMOCA 60, 3 class 2 multihulls (half of them), all of the class 1 monohulls (4) half of the class 2 monohulls (2) and from the Class 3, only one was faster (2 behind).

The vast majority of these boats are bigger and much more expensive than the Pogo 40 .

 

Thanks, Vega! Just the sort of info that's interesting to me!

A minor correction, though. The firm of Owen Clarke is the team of Merfyn Owen and Allen Clarke. "He" is they.

 

Well, there is so much information on this thread about 40class boats that I would like to make it the "Forum" thread about these boats. It makes no sense to open a new thread about it.

I will ask the Administrator if he can move this thread to "Sailboats" and change the title to just: "40class boats".

About new 40class boats, there is an interesting one, the first American one.

Is a Rodger Martin design and it is a beauty.

The boat is under construction and it is going to race the “Global Ocean Challenge” with an all American team:

“Gwaihir Racing - a Rhode Island based Class 40 campaign

Stuart Williams and Jared Lazor ...have formally entered the Global Ocean Challenge in the double-handed Class 40 division. With the interest in short-handed sailing at an all time high, both sailors yearned to compete in one of the existing around-the-world races but found themselves locked out both financially and technically. Daunted by the high budget and technical extremes of a modern Open 60 around-the-world campaign, Williams and Lazor thought that their dream of a shorthanded circumnavigation was over.

The Global Ocean Challenge, however, is all about affordability and no sooner had race organizers Josh Hall and Brian Hancock announced the event, they set about preparing their entry.

....The next person that they contacted was local yacht designer Rodger Martin. Martin is not only a neighbor and friend, he is also a naval architect of great note having designed some highly successful boats for earlier solo around the world races including Airco Distributor aboard which Mike Plant won Class 2 of the 1987 BOC/Around Alone race.

Martin has done some extensive computer hull testing in a variety of weather conditions and feels sure that the design will match, if not beat, the fastest Class 40s already sailing. Construction began in December at Al Fresco Composites, also in Rhode Island, under the keen and critical supervision of Ted Brown and Stewart Wiley.”

http://www.globaloceanchallenge.com/?q=en/2187
http://www.rodgermartindesign.com/portfolio.htm

 

A lot of winches compared to the others???

 

Have to keep the skipper occupied somehow.
All those rebuilds should keep him busy.

 

Yes you are right, but it makes some sense:

The Boom traveler is on the back of the boat and to move the traveler they use the back winches. The ones on the roof are for reefing and rodkick. For the headsails they end up with only one winch on each side.

Take a look at this picture. The back winches are occupied with the traveler.

 

Most of the 40s I looked at at the RduR had 5...plenty.

Although I must admit to thinking that there were a lot of clutches on them, 8 seems a little indulgent.
Skips preference, I am sure.

 

Another new design, and a nice one , by another French NA, Tanguy le Bihan from TLB.

The 40class TLB:

http://www.architecturenavale.fr/content.php?id=9

http://www.architecture-navale.fr/medias/7/11/1169805978.pdf

 

I agree, Vega... another interesting design within a very interesting class.

My single and very purposeful complaint is; When are the French boat design guys going to understand that there is a whole, big world of potential readers of their websites, as well as potential buyers of their products... if they would only provide a proper English alternate page for reading?

Let's face it, Babelfish translation just absolutely sucks when it comes to nuanced conversion of the French sailing language. My French speaking daughter is away at college playing soccer. She gets decidedly irritated with me whenever I ask her to create a nice translation of a group of web pages. So, I am unable to understand the progress of the current, state of the art in design as it applies to these boats.

So, here I am, stupidly drifting away with my big background in the German language and not one whit of an idea as to the beautiful complexity of the French design firms and their work.

OK, rant over.

Chris

 

Chris, you have only to ask . Have another nice one, but this time with a site with a proper English version.

This one is special because is co-designed by a forum member, Charlythewind (designed by Charles Bertrand/Bernard Mallaret) .

It is also different, because it is originally designed not as a racer, but as a fast offshore cruiser. The racers will follow.


“Designed for the Carène Shipyard in Marseille as a new version of its existing Zou40' , this yacht has a very dual purpose design brief.
Originally designated to fast offshore cruises, it must also be able to perform well in the Class 40 racing events and be efficient enough so that fully racing orientated yachts can be built on the same design base.

With a beam of 4.20m this is a moderate design in the scope of the class 40, but the chines running to the stern and the 750 l . of water ballast on each side are there to provide the required stability. Stability and upwind efficiency are also enhanced by a deep lifting keel, holding the bulb at 3m when down and allowing a reduced draught of 1.50m when up”.

A very good looking boat with a very nice interior.

Rough, pay attention to this one. The Zou40 is an already existing boat. This one is an actualization, the Zou 40.2.and is a lot nicer.

The lifting keel is an huge advantage for cruising and this boat has a standing height (1.9m), a thing that the other class 40 don’t have, unless you are not big .

http://www.fox-tech.co.uk/projects.html

http://www.courseaularge.com/index.php?t=infos_pro&i=6107

http://zou40.com/zou/

 

And another one.
Hey guys, this one is an Australian one , designed by Paul Bury.

http://www.bury.com.au/images/16_01_large.jpg

http://www.bury.com.au/16_class40.html

 

More news: on the 2007 Fastnet there will be 25 to 30 Class40 yachts racing.

 

And another nice one, this one designed by Jérome Renous and in construction at TECHNOLOGIE MARINE. It is the "TOMAHAWK 40" and it will race the Fastnet and Transat Jacques Vabre 2007.

This one also has a retractable keel (1.7/3.0).

http://www.class40.com/Class-40-voile/actualites/Tomahawk 40 by Jérome Renous/7/74.html