Volvo Ocean 65

Volvo Ocean 65

The Volvo Ocean 65 Mapfre and Azzam at the start of the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante in October 2014.
Current specifications
LOA 22.14 m (72.6 ft)
LWL 20.00 m (65.62 ft)
Beam 5.60 m (18.4 ft)
Draft 4.78 m (15.7 ft)
Development
Designer Farr Yacht Design

The Volvo Ocean 65 is the successor to the Volvo Open 70 yacht used in past editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. It was announced at a conference in Lorient, France during a stopover in the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race. It has officially been announced that the yacht will be used in at least two future editions of the race (2014–2015 and 2017–2018 editions, respectively), marking the first time in its history that the Volvo Ocean Race will become a one-design event.[1]

Design

The yacht was designed by Farr Yacht Design, to be a cheaper and safer alternative to the ageing and expensive Volvo Open 70. After many safety concerns in the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race, many began doubting the safety of the Volvo Open 70, due to many designers opting for faster designs, while failing to meet safety requirements.[2][3] Current Volvo Ocean Race CEO, and four time competitor Knut Frostad hinted at a new boat design to address the current safety concerns in a statement he made during a press conference on April 4, 2012 stating: "It's important that we don't leap to any conclusions about why these breakages have happened. Some of them are clearly not related. However, we will take the current issues into account as we make decisions on rules and technology we will be using in the future." Frostad also went on to say "We have already put in a lot of work, discussing with teams, designers and all other stakeholders about the boats and the rules we will use in the future, and we expect to be in a position to announce a decision on that before the end of the current race."[4]

On June 28, 2012 Knut Frostad revealed the design at a press conference in Lorient during a stopover in the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race. In becoming a one-design event, the new boats are hoped to "significantly reduce the cost of mounting a campaign and bring the size of the fleet to 8-10 boats for future editions."[1] Frostad went on to state an entire campaign for future editions of the race would be around €15 million, and a "ready to sail" boat, including pre-race and race sails would be around €4.5 million in comparison to the €30-40 million region a current campaign can fall into.[5]

Specifications

Features[6] Measurements / Notes
Hull Length 20.37 m (defined as 66 ft)
Length waterline (design) 20.00 m (defined as 65 ft)
Length overall (incl. bowsprit) 22.14 m (defined as 72 ft)
Hull Beam 5.60 m (18.4 ft)
Max Draft 4.78 m (15.8 ft)
Boat Weight (empty) 12,500 kg (27,557 lb)
Keel arrangement Canting keel to ±40° with 5° of incline at axis
Daggerboards Twin, reversible, retracting asymmetric daggerboards
Rudders Twin under hull with spare that may also be transom hung
Aft Water Ballast Twin 800L ballast tanks under cockpit sides at transom
Forward Water Ballast Single centerline 1000L ballast tank forward of mast
Rig Height 30.30 m (99.4 ft)
Rig Arrangement Deck stepped, twin backstays with deflectors
Bowsprit Length 2.14 m (7 ft)
Mainsail Area 163 m2 (3 reefing points, 6 battens)
Working Headsail (J1) Area 133 m2 (Fixed with hanks on the permanent forestay; horizontal battens)
Upwind Sail Area 296–451 m2 (Mainsail and Jib 1 or Masthead Code 0, plus Jib 2 or Jib 3)
Downwind Sail Area 578+ m2 (Mainsail and A3 gennaker, additional staysails are permitted)

Comparison to Volvo Open 70

Features[7] Ocean 65 Volvo Open 70
Length 19.80 m (65 ft)/20.37 (66 ft) 21.50 m (70.5 ft)
Beam 5.60 m 5.70 m
Max Draft 4.78 m 4.50 m
Boat Weight 12,500 kg 14,000 kg
Righting moment (RM 25) including stacking and Water Ballast 33,000 kg/m 40,000 kg/m
Cant Angle 40° 40°
Rig Height 30.30 m (99.4 ft) 31.50 m (103.3 ft)
Freeboard at Mast 1.72 m 1.60 m
Mainsail Area 151 m2 175 m2
Working Headsail Area 135 m2 (J1) 200 m2 (G1)
Bowsprit length 2.15 m (7 ft) 1.82 m (6 ft)
Number of sails (Includes storm sails) 7 10
Water Ballast 1x1000L (Centerline, Fwd) 2x800L (Aft Wing Tanks) 1x1600L (Centerline, Aft)

Reception

After unveiling the boat design, the reception was mostly positive from sailors who have been involved in the race in the past. Although there has been some criticism from fans, and yacht designer Juan Kouyoumdjian, whose designs have won the last 3 editions of the Volvo Ocean Race (2005–06, 2008-09 and 2011-12, respectively).[8]

Positive

Former competitor and skipper, Grant Dalton stated the new design "attacks the single problem that surrounds our sport at the moment, and that is ridiculous cost."[1]

Negative

The most negative feedback to the announcement of a one-design came from yacht designer Juan Kouyoumdjian. Having had tremendous success with all of his previous entries in the race, he has stated his disapproval of the Volvo Ocean Race becoming a one-design event. Juan addressed the main issue of Volvo Open 70's being expensive stating that he could "definitely confirm" the boats he designed fell into the €5 million range, and that despite trying to make the race more accessible to sponsors and more of a testament to a sailors skill, rather than budget, "the richest will always win." Despite his criticism, he also went on to confirm that in the event that the Volvo Ocean Race became a one-design event, he had already been approached to optimize the Volvo 65 design for a "potential future team."[9]

References

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