Thanks to Le Télégramme, these interesting interviews of skipper Ian Lipinsky and NA David Raison about the concept of this new class 40 design
Credit Mutuel :
Ian Lipinsky interview :
Q : « Why a Class 40 and not an Imoca ? »
Ian Lipinsky : « Already, I had the chance with Credit Mutuel to start from a white page, to be able to work with David Raison who had already drawn this incredible mini. To do it on a 40 feet up to the Route du Rhum 2022, it's super exciting. I do not pretend to jump immediately into an Imoca. Maybe one day but to go step by step is good too. The Class40 is another way of sailing, it is also a reasonable budget: it costs 700,000 euros for the design part, manufacture of tools and all the equipment. The operating budget is about 300,000 euros per year. »
Q : « The Class40 rules does not allow you to make rounded bows: how did you do to hijack the problem? «
Ian Lipinsky : « We had a 650 with extraordinary characteristics and we wanted to reproduce that in Class40. But actually, each class has its rule so we comply with while imagining a boat with similar characteristics, i.e. more power in the front, more width possible even if it is limited by the rule. »
Q : « David Reason as an architect, it was obvious? »
Ian Lipinsky : « Yes. All the people I work with are not there by hazard : I have woven with them very beautiful relationships in recent years. David Raison, I sailed on his boat, I know him well, I have very good relations with him. It was logical to continue with him because, sportingly speaking and in terms of performance, he has a huge expertise of these boats with a lot of volume in front. He started the concept of scows in ocean racing. He drew the Magnum, which was very good, then the Maximum, which was excellent. We saw on the 650 minis that other architects tried the same concepts but that it did not work as well. I think David Raison has a head start on this concept. »
Q :"How would you define the Raison concept ?"
Ian lipinsky : « My mini was very powerful, she did not heeled and even when she was heeling a little, she kept going straight. In two years of navigation, I have never go to luff, nor to « à l'abattée » (Ndt :
in french, it is the contrary of luff, I don't know the term in english). It's pretty amazing. When my opponents were in waterproof suits and arrived in Martinique with buttons everywhere, I had never to put one during the transat. The 650 David Raison always had a constant speed, she would never deccelerate, she had a steady speed. And that is relaxing for the skipper but also for the structure of the boat. A boat that goes into waves, these are huge constraints for the structure, for the rigging. The idea is to reproduce the same thing with this Class40 but we can never be sure that it works »
David Raison interview :
Q : « What is the basic idea of this Class40? »
David Raison : « The idea of this new Class40 is to have an easy-to-sail boat that is not too demanding for the skipper. The 40 feet are physically and mentally demanding boats. The goal is for the boat to save the skipper energy as much as possible in order to preserve his intellectual and physical potential for maneuvering. To move bags of wet sails, the setting and lowering of fore sails, it is bursting. We want this Class40 to go fast, straight on, under pilot. In short, to try to have the behavior of the Mini which made the success of Ian. »
Q : « To reproduce a 650 in a 40 feet, it must not be simple? »
David Raison : « For an architect, this means "trying to fit a mini in the tonnage imposed by the Class40". These boats have longitudinal lines quite pronounced, we remove the bow knuckle, that is to say the lower end of the bow to have only very flat fore waterlines, a minimum of hollows to go to the bottom, and a floatation length as reduced as possible to promote planning»
Q : « The rounded nose seems here more pointed ... »
David Raison : « Doing a rounded bow in a triangle is a bit of a challenge. There is a triangle
(NdT : from the rules) o
n the front so we managed to get our bow in there. We shortened the boat and then stretched the nose. »
Q : « Rounded bows have proven themselves on the mini circuit. Why do you think the other classes, like the 40's and 60's, are cautious about this? »
David Raison : « These are owner classes, it's their right. They may not want to see the boats depreciate too fast. The Class40 took three months to react when I won the Mini-Transat in 2011 but I was not a member of the Class40 at the time, I do not have to comment on this subject. In Imoca, I think they were afraid of the impact on humans with faster boats that could hit the waves more. Well, round noses are very comfortable boats upwind and that do not wet. Downwind, it will hit hard ricocheting on the waves. Well, the Imoca have foils and it's even worse! »
Q : « Does David Reason dare more than other architects? »
David raison : « I dare but I validate upstream. I know where I'm going. All those who have tried the curved bow boats are generally convinced so there are reasons for satisfaction. Now, in Class40, I had a big delay to catch up so I had to work. What is important is to answer the confidence of Ian Lipinski. The challenge is that Ian and his partners are happy. »
Source :
Class40. Lipinski, jamais sans Raison https://www.letelegramme.fr/voile/class40-lipinski-jamais-sans-raison-15-05-2019-12284530.php