Blue Show, the Cult of the IOR from which Show 42 was born.

Since we launched our campaigns Classic Boat e Classic IOR, aimed at celebrating and researching the great classics of the Golden Age of Sailing, a great many of you have written to us to tell us about your boats and experiences, and just as many have taken advantage of the dedicated platform to upload them online and share them with everyone(HERE). And for that we thank you, because a vital step for their memory not to be lost. On the other hand, it is also a splendid way for these boats to be talked about again, for them to be preserved and, why not, even gain in value. Primarily, however, it is the history that interests us, the memory of these hulls that made sailing what it is. Here, then, is one of them, a cult Classic IOR that you sent us through the Classic Boat portal, an icon among the celestial hulls of master Vallicelli: Blu Show.

Blue Show, the “racer” from which Show 42 was born

1979 is a year of big projects for the Vallicelli studio(HERE find the whole story). First Filo da Torcere was born, then Brava. Two outstanding projects that will etch the studio’s name in sailing history. Just after these, however, another classy hull was also born, a design strongly influenced by the previous two: Blu Show precisely. A boat that will prove so good as an all-rounder that, in ’81, she will be made a series design for Barberis in the Show 42.

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The project

Blu Show was born as a medium-sized IOR two-tonner (12.49 x 3.96 m) with the intention of developing a hull that is fully all-round, i.e., one that does not exhibit large performance swings under different conditions, thus excelling, above all, in medium-light airs. Built based on an organization of structures with a predominantly longitudinal development, its realization (by the Pezzini Viareggio Shipyard), involves a relatively sparse mesh of ordinates, then woven by a denser series of cedar planking to which the cross planking, this time of spruce and okumè, is glued.

In terms of lines, however, compared to the previous two, Blu Show then presents a less tapered design toward the bow, with the profile of the foredeck, in fact, more vertical, a sign of times beginning to change, as evidenced also by the stern, squared off and with a more acute knee-dipped section.

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The series in Show 42

After her first performances and the good results she showed, including, to be remembered, her participation in the 1980 Sardinia Cup (with Dick Deaver at the helm, she contributed in no small part to the second place finish for the Italian team), Barberis contacted the firm to produce a production model. Thus was born, as mentioned, the Show 42, making the hull now strong with some modifications to the stern sections and volumes to improve some features and ensure good interior habitability. Made now of fiberglass and no longer of laminated wood, the Show 42 will also be longer than the prototype, 12.62 x 3.96 meters strong, compared to 12.49 x 3.96 m for the Blue Show.

Three “tidbits” about Classic Boats

• Want to learn more about the world of Classic Boats (1967-1998), the iconic boats of the period, the legendary designers, the stories and races of the “golden age” of sailing? Check out our section dedicated to Classic Boats!
• Do you have a Classic Boat to sell? Put it (for free) on our classifieds market!

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