Wevo 650: the “Mini” Italian reality that challenges the French. PHOTOS

There is an Italian Mini 650, with a round bow, that wants to cross the Ocean and is a serious alternative to the overwhelming power of French manufacturers. We are talking about the new Wevo 650 built by Cima Boats of Iris Cima and designed by Oris d’Ubaldo (the same man who conceived the GS 34). We saw it up close at the TAG Heuer VELAFestival 2019, where there was no shortage of curious fans visiting the boat.

Because to see it on the dock, this Mini 650 certainly cannot go unnoticed. The most striking feature of this boat is a round bow, which we define as a “scow seeds” ( True Scows are the boats with round bows and maximum width moved far forward, the Wevo on the other hand has somewhat smaller bow volumes and maximum width set further back). The goal of this boat is to be one of the most innovative and versatile models in the Mini 650 Series category (at the moment it is still a proto until at least 10 units are made).

The choice of the semi scow and not a true scow was motivated by the need to make a boat that was oriented toward carrying gaits but that would not lose ground when there is wind to be picked up, a situation in which true scows are less efficient. The other peculiarity of the Wevo is that it has an edge that runs around the entire hull (softer toward the bow). Bow and edge are two components that provide the boat with precise marine peculiarities: high righting, the ability to sail at load-bearing swells with a very low percentage of bow heave, a deck that is therefore drier, and a boat that is easier to keep on plane and less stressed on the rig, but at the same time can say its piece upwind as well. Which is no small feat for a design conceived for the Mini 650, a regatta where there is yes a lot of headway, but hard upwinds in the Bay of Biscay are not uncommon (indeed frequent).

THE CONSTRUCTION.

But not only the Wevo 650‘s unique features, another one is not visible on its exterior, we are talking about the technique with which the boat was built: the 3d Core. What are we talking about? Of one of the “secrets” of this boat. The construction is glass sandwich with 3d core laminated by infusion with polyester resin, but the special feature is that this core is formed by the PET. A particular thermoplastic material capable of low resin absorption, lower than Soric, which until 2017 was the only material used as a core for mass-produced boats. A choice that ensures a reduction in the final weight of the laminate (only 880 kg the finished boat), while increasing its stiffness and ensuring high fatigue resistance. What does it all mean? Lighter boat than the average of the other Series, but at the same time very stiff and strong, that is, those peculiarities that are always pursued for racing boats.

Today there are four Wevo 650s sailing, one of which will go to German skipper Lina Rixgens; the goal is to have the boat at the start of the Mini Transat 2021 homologated as a Series boat.

www.cimaboats.com

Mauro Giuffrè