RM 1270 FIRST TEST MOVIE

Not the boat I would chose to sail on the Med (not enough upwind fun) but certainly one in my short list if I was circumnavigating or sailing extensively (voyaging) around, specially considering the relation between price, quality and performance. The new swing keel, that is offered as an option to a twin keel or mono keel, increased the overall versatility and the boat is just an improved 1260 that was already an improved 1200 and the RM 1200 (that I test sailed some years ago) was already a great boat.

I had made already a post about the RM 1270:

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2015/11/rm-1270_13.html and I just want to add some more visual information about the boat, regarding the new swing keel, the huge transom directly influenced by solo racers (that will provide a huge stability and no roll sailing downwind) and most of all the excellent test movie made by the German magazine Yacht.de, that tested the RM 1270 and were impressed with its qualities, sailing and otherwise.

The movie: http://www.yacht.de/yacht_tv/test_technik/rm-1270-kantig-und-schnell/a106185.html

The interior is also improved regarding the 1260, not anything substancial, but offering the same forward view that allows to sail the boat from the chart table, it has now a more refined interior in what regards finish and color schemes. 

THE NEW FIGARO 3

Will be a VPLP design, probably with a big hand from Verdier. The boat seems very elegant with a sharp bow, a considerable beam all pulled back a fixed keel and "conventional" foils, a beautiful boat.

But I have to say that I would have preferred any of the two other designs that made to the final. They did not identified the other two finalists, just posted the photos, but I would say that it is clear that this one  from Manuard/Conq and the one that I would have preferred:

Yes, certainly less elegant but offering a lot more spay protection, a view to the outside from the interior (allowing  sleeping on the interior while keeping an eye on the traffic) a more rounded bow (with lots of buoyancy)  and a more advanced kind of foils featuring DSS and adding more lift. It features also a fixed keel. The VPLP design will probably offer a better upwind performance but I would say that this one will smoke it downwind while offering also a decent upwind performance. Certainly the best design in what regards Transats.

Finally the one that I guess is from Mer Forte ( Desjoyeaux), the only one featuring a canting keel with foils not very different from the ones proposed by VPLP. The bow seems to be just a bit more rounded than on the winner proposition but a lot less than on the Manuard/Conq design. Also a very beautiful boat.

I would love to see a canting keel on this boats not only for performance but also in what regards development of simpler and very reliable systems whose technology could be transferred later to performance cruisers. The price of this boat, ready to sail (and with all tax paid) has to cost between 150 000 and 200 000 euros and that would have implied the development of an inexpensive canting keel mechanism.

RCD INCREASES MINIMUM SAILBOAT STABILITY AGAIN

These stability curves are nice ones, from the new Halberg Rassy 44. They are righting moment curves that are obtained multiplying the boat mass in kg by the length of the arm (GZ) in m. The arm is the a horizontal one that you obtain with heeling, between the vertical CG (center of gravity) line and the vertical line of CB,(center of buoyancy) that is the center of the the underwater volume of the boat. The picture below makes shows that arm increasing and decreasing.

The CG is where the mass of the boat pulls down, the CB is the point where the buoyancy push up. Stability is increased when the CG is lowered (with more draft or a more efficient keel) and when the boat beam is increased (the distance between the two vertical line becomes bigger). The righting moment is positive till the AVS point (point of no return) and negative after that.

A good stability curve is one that has a much more positive righting moment than negative righting moment and you can compare (and measure) that by the the amount of surface between the positive area of the curve, first part (up) till the AVS point (the heel where the boat inverts itself, not returning anymore to the upright position) and the negative area under the second part of the curve, after the AVS point. They are marked on the drawing as upright stability and inverted stability.

A good stability curve is also one with a good AVS and not less important, a good or very goor righting moment at 90º heel.

The minimum acceptable AVS has been maintained constant on the RCD but the way stability curves are considered have increased in fact boat stability. The minimum AVS on Category A depends on the boat mass. Lighter boats need a bigger AVS to be approved, heavier and normally bigger boats can be approved with a smaller one, but never inferior to 100º and that only for a boat over 15 000kg, assuming that it can pass STIX demands. 

That diference regards the smaller stability a lighter boat will have towards a significant heavier boat will be translated by a bigger possibility of a capsize to occur on the lighter one, all other things considered equal. On the below image we can see stability RM curves of boats with very different mass and since the energy needed to capsize a sailboat is proportional to the area under the positive parts of the RM curve, we can see that the diference between those sailboats regarding the energy needed to be capsized is huge.

The formula for the minimum AVS on the RCD is this: 130º- m/500, being m the mass of a boat in kg. For instance a light category A boat like the Pogo 30, that weights only 2800kg, will have to have a minimum AVS of 124.4º. Well, that was during the first years of RCD, since then, without modifying the values the stability needs were greatly increased.

At the beginning the considered value of AVS regarded a lightship Stability curve, that you can see at red on the first image. Some years ago they demanded the AVS to be considered was the one of the boat in maximum load condition and things become more exigent. You can see that the AVS in lightship condition on the HR stability curves is about 125º but the AVS on max load condition is only about 120º. 

Now the demands become bigger and retroactively regarding all boats on the market from the end of 2016, the minimum AVS will be considered regarding a new stability curve that will give a significant lower AVS, a stability curve with the boat on the worst possible configuration, meaning tanks emptied, all the weight of possible boat extras over the waterline considered,  none below,  all allowed crew over the deck and none inside.

It seems not to make a big diference but it does, since extras, like radar on the mast or furling main, empty tanks and the weight of the crew over the deck can rise significantly the CG and diminish the AVS. I have heard about a 40ft aluminum voyage centerboarder (and not one with a low AVS regarding other centerboarders) having to add around 450kg of ballast to be able to comply with the new minimum AVS and also, in what regards STIX, having to reduce the mast and the sail area.

The STIX (that for Category A has to be over 32) is obtained by a complex formula and is the other relevant parameter, in what regards stability conditions, for a boat  to be approved.

TRANSAT AG2R ON 32ft FIGARO

Just to remember that this almost 25 year's old duo transat, on little 32ft sailing boats (Figaro class), is going to start again tomorrow, Avril 3 and that you will be able to follow it almost in direct through the tracker on the race site: http://transat.ag2rlamondiale.fr/

The short movie above is from one of the 15 teams that will race this edition, training some days ago in 40k winds. Another team is this one, well known in internet by their acrobatic figures LOL:

Xavier, the more experienced from the two, with an already long carrier (2015 France champion of solo offshore racing), says it is the third time it had happened to him.

This race has always been the one that had revealed the best solo offshore sailors and being essentially a race for  the new generation of solo offshore racers, use to have the participation of several stars from the IMOCA class (Open 60's), but not unfortunately this year due to their involvement on the Transat Anglaise (British Transat) that will start in a month.

Some images of the more than 20 years of this race on an already old but interesting movie:

SAINT BARTH REGATTA - GREAT SAILING IMAGES

St Barth sailing bucket is not a top race with top sailors and top racing boats, more a regatta to the jet set sailing community to have a big social event and have fun with big crews sailing their mega yachts, to a nice sailing performance. Anyway I am quite pleased that some very rich have the good taste of spending their money in beautiful and hugely expensive yachts including the recuperation of the J-fleet, the maxi racers from the 30's, that you can see also here competing. Cheers to them and to the great images they provide for our delight.

St Barth Bucket Regatta 2016 by Drone from St Barth Fly Cam on Vimeo.

BESTEVAER 45ST

Nothing really much interesting from Besteaever.... till know. They are beautiful expensive aluminium voyage boats designed by Dykstra, very classical in design, considerably heavier then the French alu. models, having the 50 a similar design made of GRP, a considerably less expensive version, the Bestewind.

But things have changed and the new 45ST can have a swing keel with all ballast on the keel and a two rudder set up. That will increase the boat potential as a voyage boat, allowing it to access shallow anchorages, to get better protection from the wind and sea, anchoring closer to the shore and the possibility to be beached.

Contrary to the previous 45 this one has a real pilot house, offering a small protected space to steer the boat in bad weather, or cold,  at the cost of a smaller saloon (you can see it on the movie). It makes a lot more sense than the aluminium sprayhood  previously adopted (on the photo) that would not serve as a proper shelter for bad weather.

An interesting boat for the ones that prefer a slightly outdated hull to enjoy the privilege of having a classical looking boat and don't mind to pay for a 45ft aluminium semi custom boat about the same that they would pay for a more functional 50ft French production Aluminium voyage boat.

The interiors are of very good quality and match the classical taste of the yacht. http://www.kmy.nl/yacht/bestevaer-45st.html

Since we are looking at the Besteaver, let's also have a look at the less expensive GRP version, the Bestewind 50 that costs about the same price as the Aluminium Bestevaer 45, around half a million euros without VAT. A very nice looking boat with an interior a bit too posh for my taste, but that will go along with the conservative tastes of the ones that will chose a boat like this as a voyage boat.

http://www.techmarineyd.it/Bestewind%2050.pdf

THE FIGARO III?

No, it is not this one, this is just an ante-vision (François Chevalier) of what could be the future boat but an interesting design nevertheless. So, what we do know about the characteristics demanded for the new boat?:

"The new one-design racing boat will have a racing program of  mainly offshore solo and duo races. It will integrate technologies that will provide a substancial improvement in performance, without diminishing the seaworthiness and allowing easy access. It  will fulfill the requisites for  ISO Category A and Category 1 ISAF. Its size, from 30 to 32 feet, will allow to maintain a low price and a controlled cost. The one design will be strict and  an integral part of the design and building."
http://www.classefigarobeneteau.fr/cfbsite/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Appel-a%CC%80-Candidature-renouvellement-Monotype-Classe-Figaro-Be%CC%81ne%CC%81teau-Jan-2016.pdf

We know also that only major designers with experience in designing this type of racing boats (on the last 5 years) will be accepted on the contest for the new boat and we know that the 3 finalists have already been chosen (24/2), that the 3 preliminar projects have already been delivered and that the official project will be chosen before the end of this month.

The two previous Figaros, the I in 1990 and the II, in 2003, were two amazingly advanced designs for their time, to the point that the Figaro II, designed 13 years ago still look contemporary. They were designed by two of the best French designers, Finot and Marc Lombard.

 We know already the 3 chosen finalists, VPLP (Verdier?), Finot/Conq/Manuard, Mer Forte (Michel Desjoyeaux). It seems a bit odd Mere fort being there, I don't see how their curriculum fits on the demanded competences.

http://www.finot.com/bateaux/batproduction/beneteau/figarobeneteau/fig_ben_pres_ang.htm

http://www.marclombard.com/course-topmenu-15/production-monocoques/figaro-beneteau-2

Regarding François Chevalier ante-vision I am not convinced about the bow. Probably it will be rounded but not so much. That bow would be great on a Transat but on the med upwind on nasty conditions would prove to be an ineffective one, that would make miserable the life of any sailor, including a racing one. In fact even if Transats are on the boat racing program they are not the main part of it.

Not also sure about beam. probably we will have a beamier boat with finer entries or maybe not because the use of lateral foils imply a big buoyancy on the bow, specially on a small boat and I am not sure how that will be solved. I hope there will be better ways than with a bow like that.