Ocean Racing Magazine - #2 - April & May 2007 - (Page 66)

MINI CLASS A NEW GENERATION Manuard back at work Samuel Manuard, architect – racer and designer of the boat that won the 2005 Mini Transat, when she was sailed by Corentin Douguet , is someone we presented to you last year: "It’s the end of a cycle (…) and the design of the boat will continue to evolve. We need to make the most of the stability rules laid down by the Mini Class." Sam, who unfortunately dismasted 80 miles from the finish in Brazil in 2003, when he was way out in front, knows more than anyone how much progress there has been since 2002 in the hull of his famous Tip Top, which Douguet’s boat was derived from. When last year he began thinking about her, a totally new design was favoured. "We launched Metalco, Matthieu Cassanas’s 630 prototype, which only keeps the deck and rudders from the previous version. The most clearly visible difference from the previous generation is of course the chine of the hull," explained Samuel, who is currently finishing work on his own Mini! The project was launched in collaboration with Bernard Gallay, and the construction was entrusted to Tocatec yard, not far from Sète (run by Hervé Devic, the builder and skipper a while back of the Finot designed Mistral Gagnant). Samuel plans to set out on the Transat 2007 taking advantage of one of the three places reserved for the prototypes launched this year, while Bernard intends to take over the prototype for the 2009 race. "The Mini we have just finished building is on a really tight schedule, and is an enhanced version of the 630. The idea is to take things a step further with the design of a light boat, and to take full advantage of the 10° rule imposed by the class. Similar things have been happening in the IMOCA boats, but it is even more extreme with the Mini, as we’re talking about a small boat, but the basic thinking is the same." As Sam pointed out to us at the start of the 2006 season, the trend is clearly towards looking for dynamic support early on, and therefore entering the water less elegantly. As far as the appendages are concerned, little change can be seen in the rudders, but the daggerboards have changed quite a lot. "On the 630, we opted for some deep fins, with a very thin profile – but having said that we changed our minds a bit by keeping the depth, while increasing the profile." As for the rig, the experiment with the wing mast was not conclusive on Bahia Express, Bernard Gallay’s previous boat, so Samuel has chosen a simpler option with a mast with two layers of spreaders (gaining a shaped, rotating spar is interesting, as it makes manoeuvres easier, but the extra weight is a handicap). "My mast doesn’t reach the maximum value allowed because of the matter of the weight of the bulb (the class rules favour easing the weight at the top, editor’s note) and the hound is almost at the mast head." The architect – racer pointed out that his new boat marks an important step up in terms of interior fittings: "To talk of comfort would be an exaggeration, but progress has been made! The human factor is so important on these boats that it is in our interest to set up a rest area and allow things to be stowed. As things move along, the more I try to deal with that question… In the past, we didn’t have the space for a man to stretch out, so we had to curl up: that has now been rectified." Following the "machines" designed by Finot-Conq and Marc Lombard, the details of which were presented in Course au Large N° 18, there are some new prototypes appearing in the Mini Class. ©Manuard New wave for Rolland And another architect – racer. The Brest designer Pierre Rolland, whose 60-footer sailed by Stamm is literally walking away with the race against his rivals in the Velux 5 Oceans, is also launching a prototype of the new generation with the Transat in mind. The 628, commissioned by Quentin Monégier and Fred Juillot, is the first Rolland design to be launched in two years, the last being a boat for a Swiss racer. "I proposed three hulls to them with three different levels of power (the most reasonable being derived from the Camaléon, the 2002 prototype, editor’s note)… and they chose the most powerful, which has no hard chine – having said that, the hull is very vertical to the freeboard, so it’s almost as if that was the case. As for the appendages, we chose to fit a centreboard, to fit in with our basic philosophy, which was to make her as light as possible. We do have a system however, that allows us to vary the angle of the fin, which is one of the subtleties of the boat. Still with the aim of making her lighter, we worked hard on her structure: the daggerboard casing rests on a part of the fore compartment, which is also a supporting pillar, as the mast is fitted to the deck. As we have made a powerful hull, Ocean Racing - april 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ocean Racing Magazine - #2 - April & May 2007

Contents
What they said
News
Portfolio
Report
Records
America's Cup
Sponsoring
Ocean Planet
Class 40
Imoca
New products
Launch
Lab
Portrait
Practical tips
Profession
Mini Class
Design
Thirty years on
New launches
Equipment
Chronicle

Ocean Racing Magazine - #2 - April & May 2007

https://www.nxtbook.com/newpress/courseaularge/oceanracing0712_06
https://www.nxtbook.com/newpress/courseaularge/oceanracing0710_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/newpress/courseaularge/oceanracing0708_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/newpress/courseaularge/oceanracing0706_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/newpress/courseaularge/oceanracing0704_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/newpress/courseaularge/oceanracing_demo
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com