Design Full-race Class 40

Design Full-race Class 40

Design Full-race Class 40

Design Full-race Class 40 for Stuart Williams under Construction for Global Ocean Challenge __For information on the GOC and "Gwaihir Racing" visit www.Globaloceanchallenge.com
A new Class 40 is under construction in Portsmouth, Rhode Island for skipper Stuart Williams of Newport, RI, a former member of the US ski team. Stuart has been cruising and racing hard for several years and decided to crystallize his passion into a new, competitive goal. He raced extensively during the summer of 2006 with Ross Weene, our Design Engineer, and approached us about designing a Class 40 for double-handed racing in the Summer of 2007. As soon as this plan was formed, Stuart set his sights on the 2007 Global Ocean Challenge. __Rodger Martin Designs has been out of the 'Round-the-World' arena for some years, by choice, so we knew we had some of catching up to do with the designers who have been concentrating on Class 40s since their inception. To build the boat Stuart chose Ted Brown and Stewart Wiley of Al Fresco Composites, Portsmouth, RI. Al Fresco could start construction in early December 2006, so the team was created and this set an intense, dedicated design strategy in motion. __We decided to test a series of hulls in a weather matrix for the race as well as a long-race performance predicition tool developed in-house by RMD. Class 40 is a 'box rule,' so we investigated one shape overtly maximized to the box. The other extreme was considerably narrower than the maximum, with a single rudder, lighter hull and a higher ballast-ratio, both to the minimum displacement. A third boat tested was between these extremes. For these three exploratory types, we used a 'parent/child' annex to our Velocity Prediction Program (VPP). This allows the boat to choose the location and amount of ballast (including ballast to leeward or empty) to give the boat its best performance in every wind strength and direction. Of course it doesn't take into account sea conditions, exhaustion, broken gear and the indefinable issue of seakindliness. If it did, we could leave it all to the machines! __An intuition that a subtle step further was needed, led to the final hull choice. It was faster in the weather matrix and RMD's own RTW test by a greater margin than all the others. We were on our way and sent the surface files to Goetz Custom for computer cutting. Design partner, Ross Weene has worked wonders (and long hours) to complete this program efficiently and accurately. __Parallel to this, we have designed the deck and interior to skipper Stu Williams and his mate, Jared Lazor's preferences. The two, who will double-hand in the GOC, flew to the finish of the Route du Rhum in Guadeloupe last November to see the newest boats and meet some of the skippers. Stuart and Jared are intensely involved in the design process, and have mocked-up the cockpit area where they will spend most of their 30,000 miles between Newport, and Portugal for the start, and, if all goes well, the completion of the GOC in 2008. __We are lucky to have Hall Spars on the team; they have done wonders to fit our spar, their first for this fast-growing class, into their full construction schedule. Sails will be by Tim Woodhouse's Hood Sailmakers in Middletown, RI. Steve Koopman, Dirk Kramers' partner in SDK Structures has been working with Ross to engineer advanced light, durable hull and appendage structures with materials from Rich O'Meara's ROM Composites of Newport. __This is not only an all-out US entry into Class 40 and GOC arena, but an all-Rhode Island entry too.