The Imoca 60 class is preparing for a fiery two-year period, culminating with the Vendèe Globe 2024. In recent weeks many skippers are at work on their boats, and new miscellaneous is happening in France. One of the latest new projects to hit the water was Thomas Ruyant‘s Imoca 60 , For People. A boat that arouses interest, both because the skipper is one of the potential favorites to win the next round-the-world race and because the design brings with it some interesting ideas.
Thomas Ruyant’s Imoca 60 – Finot-Conq returns.
Thomas Ruyant’s Imoca 60 was designed by naval architects Antoine Koch and Finot-Conq, with assistance from engineering design consultancy GSea Design, as well as know-how from Breton shipyard CDK Technologies. The shape of the hull is different from that of the recently launched Imoca 60s. It has narrower sections at the bottom, flared toward the edge. Wanting to make a comparison it is almost reminiscent of some shapes seen on some America’s Cup team prototypes, with due differences.
A boat that runs counter to the rest of Imoca’s new designs in some respects, including in the bow sections that seem leaner and less rounded.
How will Thomas Ruyant’s yacht sail?
With these leaner volumes it will be a fast boat in light winds, thus in the transitional phases between weather systems typical of the Vendée Globe. It also seems to have shapes particularly suitable for foiling: with a less wet surface under the boat it should be able to come off the water sooner.
On the flip side, there will be a question of how it will hold up to the buoyancy at the bow, the Achilles’ heel of ocean racing boats. By having a hull shape that is not flat but rather shows an almost U-shape, impacts on waves should be softer.
We will know more in the coming months, not least because 2023 is the year of Transat Jacques Vabre, the double ocean crossing where the Imoca 60s will be among the protagonists.
Mauro Giuffrè
