Made in USA: Owen Clarke Design Class40

Carbon Ocean Yachts, Bristol, Rhode Island, USA have started to build a new Owen Clarke Design Class40 for an American owner. The design team includes Clay Oliver, engineering by PURE and weather modelling data from Chris Bedford.

“It is exciting to become part of a growing class in the US and we hope to stimulate and encourage others to do so,” commented Matt Baldwin who is representing the owner for the Class40 project. “Carbon Ocean Yachts have an excellent track record, delivering the highest quality on time and budget, and Rhode Island is the best place in the US for a high tech composite project.”

“The team is really excited about the project,” confirmed Carbon Ocean Yachts COY MD, Britt Colombo. “The Class40 scene in the USA is one of the most vibrant, developing classes and we are working with a very experienced team of highly regarded designers and engineers. We have the means and capability of producing an outstanding yacht and the team at Carbon Ocean Yachts is determined to deliver a race winner for the owner and spark interest for more Class40s to be built using the same mold.”

UK designers, OCD and US based America’s Cup designer, Clay Oliver have been working together on a hull development program spanning many months and have eventually arrived at a max. beam design with lines that are unique in the class. Sail wardrobe, ballast tank positions and appendages have all been reviewed on the back of the weather and course data developed during the hull design but the finished design is still work in progress for the client, project and design team.

COY is building the Class 40 in Bristol, Rhode Island and is close to completing the male plug, which will produce the carbon female mould. The hull shell construction drawings have been delivered by PURE, the engineers responsible for Team New Zealand’s last and future AC 72 America’s Cup challenger.

As part of the weather profiling for the yacht OCD used the same software utilised in their larger IMOCA Open 60’s to run computer simulations of design candidates on courses such as the Atlantic Cup and Bermuda Races. Using high resolution weather data provided by Massachusetts based weather forecaster Chris Bedford. Comparing their new designs against existing Class40s whose performance was used as a benchmark and modelling races as far back as 2000. The results of the simulations showed the new design was faster than the current generation of yachts, in the vast majority of conditions.

Lead designer, Merfyn Owen puts his expectations for the latest Class 40 in North America in perspective. “We expect some real innovation and quality in the build from Carbon Ocean Yachts and I’m sure it will be the quickest boat on ‘paper’. However, history tells us that those with current boats need not despair! Wise sailors know and my experience of racing in the class in the US, for the last five years, tells me that especially in short-handed sailing, once the hull gets wet; experience, local knowledge, preparation and good old time on the water are all great levellers.

We’ve been designing racing boats for US owners for more than ten years but it’s really exciting for me and important for Owen Clarke Design to be working with Carbon Ocean Yachts to create this new racing yacht and for it to be built in the United States. It’s great news for Class40 in the US, that an owner has the confidence in the future of the US Class to invest in a new boat and the tooling to produce it.”

For more information visit: www.carbonoceanyachts.com

Report by Louay Habib. Photo credit: Carbon Ocean Yachts/ Billy Black.