Volvo65 One Design

An article showing the polystyrene hull plug being shaped by a mill for the new One Design Volvo70 or actually Volvo65 to be accurate

http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Volvo-Ocean-Racelugging-in-the-new-one-design---first-pictures/101852

 

Vor

I still think this one design thing is a damn shame......

 

Video update on the progress of the Volvo One Design 65. A visit to the full size mockup of the VO65 interior.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZZ8yQIsAI8&feature=youtu.be

 

Excellent update Corley. Thanks for the links. I can't remember the schedule. Weren't the first hulls to have been completed by now?

 

From what I've heard they are aiming at a completion date of June 2013 for the complete boats so time is marching on.

 

I found this article on the Multiplast website. The construction sounds like a truly international effort.

http://www.multiplast.eu/usa/news/354/60/4-world-leaders-in-race-yacht-construction-have-formed-a-consortium-to-produce-the-monohulls-for-the-next-2-Volvo-Ocean-Races.html

 

repost from sailing scuttlebutt Europe.

Volvo Ocean Race Version 1 Class Rules Announced
The Volvo Ocean Race today published the first version of the Class Rules for the one-design Volvo Ocean 65 that will contest the next two editions of the race.

The new boat, designed by Farr Yacht Design in the United States, is being built by a consortium of four boatyards - Green Marine in the UK, Persico in Italy, Decision in Switzerland and Multiplast in France.

Work is already well underway, with the first boat due to be launched in June 2013.

"As not all the components have been designed or specifications finalised yet the class rule is not a final version but v1 of the class rules is pretty comprehensive," said Race Director Jack Lloyd.

"We promised at the launch in June that the class rule would be published on November 1, 2012 and we have produced the 'foundation' of the class rule. That's important because the more information we give now the better. As actual and prospective teams put together their support staff they need to know what they can and cannot do to their boats.

"The class rule we have produced is a Closed Class Rule, which means that, if it does not specifically say that you may - then you shall not."

As the designs and specifications are finalised the class rule will be 'amended' or updated, with the final version being posted when Boat 1 is delivered in June 2013. Boat owners can ask questions about the class rules which will be answered and posted on the Volvo Ocean Race official noticeboard. They can ask for interpretations after May 1, 2013.

The VO65 Class Rule v1 is posted here: www.volvooceanrace.com/en/noticeboard/

The 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race will start from Alicante in the second half of 2014, with the full route due to be announced in January. For the first time, the race will be contested by identical 'one-design' boats. Men's teams will be made up of eight sailing members plus a Media Crew Member, with all-women's teams allowed two extra crew members.

www.volvooceanrace.com

 

video update on the build process. Visiting Farr Yacht design in Annapolis in the US, Persico in Italy who are building the hull and Multiplast in France who are building the deck.

 

vaguely related article from Sailing Scuttlebutt Europe talking about camera placement on the new one design.

New Angles, Amazing Footage
With the new one-design boat comes the opportunity to improve the media systems. We caught up with Rick Deppe, co-ordinator of the Media Crew Member programme and star of our Building the Boat videos, to talk about the possibilities.

Livewire's Tristan Wood setting up a new microphone and coaming cam on the mock-up at the Green Marine boatyard, UK. Rick Deppe / Volvo Ocean Race The new one-design boat media desk is taking shape at the Green Marine boatyard, UK. Rick Deppe /Volvo Ocean Race

"We should get some amazing footage of the guys working on the bow" - Rick Deppe

A full scale interior mock-up of the new Volvo Ocean 65 at the Green Marine boatyard in the UK is the perfect opportunity for race organisers to assess how different aspects of the design will work in practice.

So what will differ then from the previous boat, the third generation Volvo Open 70, in terms of media?

"We got rid of the previous hatch arrangement and in the new design there will be a coaming cam between the two doorways and under a protective bubble," Deppe explains. "That camera will turn and you will be able to get different angles, with shots of the trimmer or the helmsman.

"We will also have attached cameras around the boat, in the spreaders for example but also at the bow. We should get some amazing footage of the guys working on the bow."

 

A repost from Sailing Scuttlebutt Europe:

http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com/

Milestones Passed In Volvo Ocean 65 Build

A couple of significant milestones have been passed in the build process for the Volvo Ocean 65 at boatyards in Italy and France. At Persico in Italy, lamination of the outer skin of the first hull being produced has now begun, while at Multiplast in France the first carbon layer for the first deck has been completed.

"We have about 20 guys working on this," said Mark Sommerville, operations manager for the work going on at Persico. "The final layer of the outer skin went down on Wednesday and we also have a team Thermoforming the foam core."

The mould has been produced with an infusion system so that the laminate is less porous, takes in less air and is more stable over a long period of time. The steel structure that supports and strengthens the mould has also been calculated and tested to remain solid throughout the curing process. The 12.5mm thick mould, for which around 1,400 kilos of resin have been used, is cut longitudinally to facilitate the unplugging and includes removable flanges at the top sides that create the structure where the deck will be joined to the hull and the special recess for the keel ram.

"It will take eight weeks to produce a hull, fitted with the bulkheads provided by Decision SA that will make the structure stiffer and ready to be shipped to Green Marine," said Marcello Persico managing director of Persico's marine division.

"For the time being we have only built one mould but we would be able to make a second one, using the existing model, should the Volvo Ocean Race need to increase production as more teams order a boat. Also, we are committed for two editions of the race and that makes it vital to be able to use the mould on a long term span."

Meanwhile at Multiplast in Vannes, France the Volvo Ocean 65 deck's first carbon layer has just been finished. The first deck should be completed by mid-February and delivered to Green Marine to be assembled.

The first boat off the production line is expected during late June 2013. After that the plan is to have each new boat sailing within three to four days of leaving the boatyard.

www.volvooceanrace.org

A video from Persico showing the completed hull mold and description of their progress in Italian and English.



and some more photos on the Persico blog

http://persico-marine.blogspot.com.au/

 

I notice the Voiles et Voiliers have visited Multiplast and have put up a video of progress on the Deck for the new one design 65. It's in French but lots of interesting video of the work so far.

http://www.voilesetvoiliers.com/les-videos/volvo-ocean-race-2014-pont-vor-65-agathe-armand/

 

The most "extreme" fully-crewed RTW races were The Race and the Oryx Quest.

The first version had 6 starters.

The second version had 4 starters.

The next one never happened.... what does that say about the appeal of extreme crewed RTW races?

Is the comment about the Global Challenge all that relevant? Its place was pretty much taken by the Clipper Race which follows a very similar format, wasn't it? Both are in solid production yachts with paying crews. The main difference seems to be that the Clipper Race is much LESS extreme, going the "right" way with the prevailing winds.

The first "Clipper Fleet" ('96, '98, '00, '02) was eight 60' boats. The second "Clipper Fleet" (every 2 years from '05 to '11) was ten 68' boats. The third fleet, currently being built, is 13 70' boats.

So the much less extreme Clipper Fleet format sees growing fleets racing twice as often as the VOR or AA.... surely that is not a bad example to show that more restrictions can equal bigger fleets?

 

Its funny though that there have been a number of attempts to introduce the elite level one design round the world format and they've all gone pear shaped.

Agree about the Clipper thing succeeding the Global challenge, but of course it is an entirely different game. But when people get too condescending about it I can't help thinking that someone who's paid to do a few legs of that has probably got more sea time at less expense than 75% of the boat owners in the marinas of Europe...

 

This thread is intended to be an information resource following the construction and deployment of the Volvo one design 65 not a place to argue about the pro's and con's of development classes over one design racing please start a new thread to discuss the issue.

 

http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Volvo-Ocean-Race:-Southern-Spars-to-be-mast-supplier-for-Volvo-65/104773

For the 2014-15 and 2017-18 races, Southern Spars will supply a high modulus mast, high modulus racing box boom and a full EC6 bundled carbon fibre rod rigging package with deflected backstays for the new 65-foot One Design boats.

'We are very proud of our reputation for both speed and reliability,' said Kevin Batten, Project Manager at Southern Spars. 'Telefónica and CAMPER, the teams which used Southern only rig packages in 2011-12, both had a great race round the world. There are other factors in whether they win but we played our part as their reliability was fantastic.

'It’s great to be selected by Volvo to be involved in the next two Volvo Ocean Races. It is a significant order for us and shows confidence from some of the world’s best sailors that we can deliver a great product for this extremely harsh environment.