We’re gonna need a bigger boat

After sailing in recent years on the MOD70, the American team Argo Racing is shifting to the Ultim-sized trimaran for a crewed record-breaking campaign. The 105-footer will be conceived by VPLP Design with French builder Multiplast in Vannes aiming for a 2029 launch.

American Jason Carroll has recently been campaigning the MOD70 Argo, the sixth boat in this one-design series launched in the early 2010s. Argo has been considerably optimized since then, allowing it to build an impressive track record, from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean and across the Atlantic.

But the new Ultim-sized trimaran (32 meters long by 23 meters wide) will allow the team to aim higher.

“We had a great campaign with the MOD70, but we reached the limits of what that boat could achieve in terms of records,” explains Chad Corning, managing director of Argo Racing. “We are very interested in the North Atlantic record, the Route of Discovery, all the big top-tier records that were just not achievable in the MOD70. To meet those goals, we needed a bigger boat, and here we are.”

VPLP Design has extensive experience in the field, having notably designed the recent Ultims Banque Populaire XI and SVR Lazartigue.

“We worked with VPLP on optimizing the MOD70, so we had a strong working relationship with them,” noted Corning. “They also designed Jason Carroll’s cruising boat, a Gunboat 80, so we already had all that experience with them under our belts. That, along with their success in the past, made it an easy decision.”

“This kind of project, due to its scale, does not happen very often,” admitted VPLP’s Quentin Lucet. “Especially since this is not a boat that has to respect all the criteria of the Ultim class [due to its record-breaking program], it allows us to open up the field of possibilities.”

VPLP Design will deliver the hull lines for the platform to Multiplastat by the end of 2026. “Multiplast has an impressive history of high-performance offshore racing boats; they built some of the current Ultims and they are neighbors with VPLP, which makes things easier for us,” explained Corning.

Construction will begin in January 2027 for delivery in the spring of 2029. “We will likely begin sailing in France for the majority of that year before heading to the United States to wait for a weather window for the North Atlantic record,” specifies Chad Corning.

Source: Multiplast