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Marc Lombard: The passing of a naval architect as discreet as he was talented

With the death of Marc Lombard on September 18, 2023, French naval architecture loses one of the great names of the last 30 years. We take a look back at the career of a professional renowned in both ocean racing and yachting for his technical and human qualities.

Marc Lombard passes away

As La Rochelle prepares for the opening of the Grand Pavois , the Charente port has learned the sad news of the death of one of its great names in yachting. Naval architect Marc Lombard died of an illness on September 18, 2023, at the age of 64. He leaves behind a renowned agency, a large number of yacht models built and a fine record of success in ocean racing, but above all the image of a discreet and well-liked person, far removed from the ego of some architects.

Renowned sponsors

Passionate about the sea, Marc Lombard has sailed from an early age, and as he confessed to us in an in-depth interview on his career path the idea of designing boats was already there: "I've been drawing boats in my school notebooks for quite a few years."

After a detour to the Hervé shipyard in La Rochelle, he joined the British School of Naval Architecture in Southampton, where he graduated in 1981. At the same time, he worked as a boat convoyer, and met Mike Birch, who took him to the shipyard of Walter Greene, architect of the famous yellow trimaran on which the skipper won the 1st Route du Rhum. An internship with Walter Greene, alongside the likes of Halvard Mabire and Jean-François de Prémorel, completed Marc Lombard's training , and he set up his own firm in 1982.

Striking racing units

In the 1980s, Marc Lombard took part in the wave of large racing multihulls, for which he designed some famous boats, such as the Ker Cadelac trimaran , a 70-foot foiling boat. He was then approached by Philippe Jeantot for the 60-foot Crédit Agricole 2, destined for the 1st Vendée Globe. This would be the first in a series of IMOCA boats, the most famous of which is probably Catherine Chabaud's Penguin, which completed 7 circumnavigations!

Offbeat pleasure boats

His meeting with Philippe Jeantot also marked his entry into the yachting world, at Privilège Marine. Marc Lombard is also associated with the birth of RM Yachts in 1992, then under the name YES, an experience that was to prove invaluable to the company in an interview with Bateaux.com, underlining the technical challenges involved .

The list of boats built by Marc Lombard's firm is long. The Figaro Bénéteau 2, of which 98 were built, helped train many of the great names in ocean racing, and also opened the doors of the Bénéteau group to the naval architect , who collaborated on many of the group's models, while retaining the possibility of exploring niches by cultivating his difference with shipyards such as Black Pepper Yachts and its Code, JFA and Neel Trimarans .

Preparing to retire at the end of 2022, he sold his company to his employees in the form of a cooperative society. Once again, he was able to demonstrate his difference and the generosity recognized in the sector.

Fair winds to Marc Lombard for this final delivery, as his boats continue to leave a long and beautiful wake.

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Nautitech 48 Open first look: last design of legend Marc Lombard

• Toby Hodges
• February 14, 2024

The Nautitech 48 Open is the last design from the late, great Marc Lombard and seeks to move the 'Open' concept forward

The latest and largest model in Nautitech’s line up, Nautitech 48 Open, hit the water for initial sea trials in late 2023, and is the last design legendary naval architect Marc Lombard worked on before his premature death in September.

It’s also a boat with which Lombard he had a special connection, since his own yacht was a Nautitech 40 Open that he sailed across the Atlantic with his family, before basing it in Martinique.

Many of his ideas to update and improve that design are embodied in the Nautitech 48 Open. Indeed Lombard was a key driver behind Nautitech’s whole Open idea, starting with the original Nautitech 40 Open in 2013 that has since been widely imitated.

This boat seeks to move that concept forward and refine it further, improving ergonomics, living spaces and performance.

Article continues below…

Nautitech 44 Open review: space and performance?

It’s been more than six years since the Nautitech yard in Rochefort launched an entirely new design, but this Nautitech…

Outremer 4X on test – a high-performance liveaboard cruiser that is built to last

It’s a mix of everything you need for cruising and what you want to feel for performance,” Loïck Peyron said…

A rigorous approach to minimising weight, including vacuum infused hull construction and infused sandwich bulkheads, is employed. Light displacement is therefore only 13,500kg, which combines with slim hulls and narrow waterline beam to promise excellent performance.

Yet, as with the other models in the range, it doesn’t have the complication – or risk of problems – associated with daggerboards. Instead, fixed keels have a modest draught of 1.55m (5ft 1in), yet performance, especially upwind and in light airs is expected to be notably better than is commonly associated with catamarans that have this style of keel.

Digital tank testing was carried out to find the right balance between the desire to minimise hull width to optimise performance and a coherent interior layout. The hull shape was then honed to give comfortable motion at sea, with reduced pitching, easy tacking across a wide range of conditions and a responsive feel to the helm.

The latter has long been a core Nautitech strength. It recognises that, even though the autopilot is likely to be used predominantly when on passage, the conditions in which helming is a lot of fun are often a key highlight of any voyage.

Four layout options range from two to four cabins, with up to four heads. All employ the Open concept that minimises the distinction between the aft cockpit and saloon. In addition to the larger space for socialising and relaxing this provides, Lombard pointed out it also “avoids excessive internal volume and unnecessary weight.”

This model also includes the optional SmartRoom first seen on the 44 that gives bluewater multihull sailors a flexible space that can be used as a workshop and laundry room with considerable additional stowage, yet can also provide a spare bedroom or office space.

Nautitech 48 Open specifications

LOA: 14.60m 47ft 9in Beam: 7.97m 26ft 2in Draught: 1.55m 5ft 1in Displacement: 13,500kg 29,768lb Mainsail: 85m2 915ft2 Self tacking jib: 42.5m2 455ft2 Base price: €898,000 ex VAT Builder: nautitech.com

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Adieu Marc Lombard, the innovator of modern sailboats

• September 20, 2023
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Designer, innovator, pioneer, Marc Lombard passed away at the age of 64 from a serious illness and leaves a great void in the sailing world. Breaking the news was the La Rochelle-based firm itself, which in an official note made it clear that Lombard had already anticipated his exit to staff and the firm will continue operations after him.

Marco Lombard – The Beginnings

By 1982, Marc Lombard had established his studio in La Rochelle , and from there 40 years of history began, leading him to design more than 180 boats, racing and cruising. There is no doubt that ocean racing was the first love of Lombard, who was one of the most successful designers around.

By the 1990s he was already designing the first racing Opens dedicated to the Vendée Globe, Whirlpool and Sill, but it would be with Jean Le Cam’s Imoca 60 Bonduelle that a Lombard design would end up on the podium at the round-the-world race, second in 2004. The Class 40 Arkea Paprec, designed by Lombard, won the last Route du Rhum, its Mini 650s have often dominated in the Ocean, and it is difficult to sum up in a few lines a career that in the racing world has been studded with successes.

Marc Lombard the innovator

However, Lombard is also known, especially in the last 20 years, for its cruisers . Father of the RMs, modern Oceanis, Neels and many other brands , he brought personal ideas to the cruising world, often first put into practice on racing boats. It is no coincidence that he was one of the pioneers of the pronounced-width edged boats , turning a feature of racing boats into an opportunity to increase the interior space of cruising boats. The latest cruisers designed by Marc Lombard also have rather large bow volumes, as is most strikingly the case on racing scows. Trends that set the standard.

One of his last projects was Beneteau’s Oceanis 37.1 , a boat that has some stylistic “goodies” that confirm how Lombard was always looking for a key to leave his signature even on a pleasure boat. In this case, he eliminated the backstay, increasing the length of the spreaders and their quarter, to allow the rudder wheels to sit further aft and thus increase the interior space devoted to the rear cabins. An innovator in short, in the world of racing as well as cruising. Modern boating will miss it.

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ML Yacht Design Group

We have a very strong tradition of ocean racing at the design office and we turn this to our advantage in our production cruisers

A VERY STRONG TRADITION OF OCEAN RACING

Manager of a team of ten, including his partner  Eric Levet  (an outstanding naval architect and designer),  Lucien Wohler  (stability studies) and  Lionnel Huetz  (PhD in hydrodynamics), Marc Lombard founded his own naval architect’s office in La Rochelle in 1982. As a young man, just out of design school in Southampton and keen on sailing with a crew, he delivered a boat with  Mike Birch  in 1978, before the latter went on to win the Route du Rhum on his little yellow trimaran designed by Walter Greene. He was then offered an internship at Walter Greene’s American boatyard. This was a the chance of a lifetime for Marc Lombard and an incredible experience that would forge his skills. In 1982, he decided to set up his own naval architect’s office  to build racing boats .

I followed the Ostar race starts and I met a lot of racers. I worked for 25 years on racing boats from 1982 to 2005.

says Marc who designed Ker Cadelac, Crédit Agricole IV, Banque Populaire, Sill, Veolia, and Whirlpool. He continues to work on racers, while designing a large number of cruising yachts at the same time.

Beauty and design are always related to purpose

Large chined hull, inverted sheer, bowsprit, the Marc Lombard hallmark is easy to recognize.  “A cruising yacht must be coherent and provide pleasure at sea. It must be as beautiful as it is sexy. Our vision of beauty is the overall effect of the volume distribution and this is always linked to purpose,”  says Marc Lombard. An instant and long-standing success, ML Yacht Design designs many successful production boats for renowned boatyards such as the Bénéteau Group.

«  “We like fast boats with their own distinctive personality. The boat that symbolizes our work best is the  Figaro 2 . She doesn’t look much, but she is a magnificent boat, a timeless classic that just keeps on giving…”  » says the architect, whose approach is very cross-disciplinary, (sailing cargo ship, fast aerodynamically-lifted passenger boats, racing, cruising). ML Yacht Design is a leading naval architect’s office and has been producing a broad range of designs for nearly 40 years!

The designs of ML Yacht Design Group

Length Overall

11.93 m / 39’2’’

Beam overall

3.92 m / 12’10’’

12.87 m / 42’3’’

4.18 m / 13’9’’

Figaro BENETEAU II

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• Interview with Éric Levet, Naval Architect of the Sun Odyssey 380

Following the success of the Sun Odyssey 35, designed in 2002 by Marc Lombard , Jeanneau began a long-term collaboration with Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group . Their design skills were called upon in the development of multiple models of the Sun Odyssey line , including the Sun Odyssey 380, launched at the end of 2021.

In this interview, Éric Levet, Naval Architect and Co-Director of the Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group, reflects on the design of the latest addition to the line. He decodes the guiding technical and architectural design choices in the development of the Sun Odyssey 380.

View the interview

Designing the boats of tomorrow.

The highly experienced Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group counts over 250 design plans for leisure boats to its credit, which represents around 3,500 boats that have been built and put in the water.  Beyond the numbers, it is clear that the Marc Lombard Yacht Design signature has become a sure value, throughout the world.

DISCOVER JEANNEAU’S DESIGNERS

FOCUS ON THE ARCHITECTURAL CHOICES ABOARD THE SUN ODYSSEY 380

In this interview, Éric Levet places an accent on the particular importance of weight and the centre of gravity on a sailboat.

Weight plays a predominant role in the performance of a sailboat.  It is the priority in all that we design in the marine field.  Weight is not everything, but when we build lighter than the competition, that does not mean more dangerous. It means greater performance, especially if we accompany that with a hull stability that is well adapted and a rather high-performance sail plan.

Éric Levet, Naval Architect with Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group

Linked with the ultimate stability of the sailboat, the centre of gravity plays a fundamental role in safety.  In fact, the lower the centre of gravity, the greater the angle of vanishing stability.  The safety of the boat will be reinforced, as well as its performance.

At any speed, the key objective is to make boats increasingly more stable and to improve performance.  To do this, Éric Levet worked extensively on the design of the Sun Odyssey 380, and notably, on three components.

For a more serene cruising experience, the naval architect chose twin rudders .   An inverted bow delivers an enhanced performance and perfects the aesthetic of this sailboat.   The forefoot above the waterline also gives the Sun Odyssey 380 unequalled ease of handling at the helm.

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A New Excess Catamaran in 2024!

One of the big announcements at the 2023 Cannes Yachting Festival was from Excess Catamarans who announced a new addition to their range of sailing yachts. The new model will slot in between the Excess 11 and Excess 14.

Helping them on the next stage of development of this increasingly popular brand will be Lombard (MLYDG) – in charge of the naval architecture and Jean Marc Piaton who will design the interiors. Following the Excess Catamarans philosophy, this will be a collaborative process involving the Excess team and the “Tribe”: their owners, clients, dealers and industry experts. We are looking forward to seeing the design in more detail in early 2024!

Building on the Success of the Excess 14, shown below:

The Next Generation

These two experienced design teams will evolve the design from the Excess 11 and 14 which were created with VPLP design and Patrick Le Quément for the first generation of Excess catamarans.

The brief for the designers is to build on the brand’s strengths by creating a catamaran that’s fun to sail and comfortable to live aboard. It’s this balance and a growing reputation for after-sales and relationship building that has defined the essence of Excess so far.

Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group

A word from Eric Levet, Marc Lombard Design

“For the Lombard team, integrating the Excess Catamarans brand with this new project is a challenge we’ve been delighted to take on!”

“In partnership with the Excess design office, we were keen to develop the design of this new catamaran to reinforce the brand’s strengths.”

“The brief was simple yet ambitious: to create a catamaran that’s evolving and balanced, solid, and offering great sensations, all combined with the comfort and interior volume that has made Excess such a success.”

“The form of the hulls, the weight, the composite structure, the layout, the ergonomics, the efficiency of the sail plan, everything about this new Excess is designed around the pleasure of easy sailing and comfortable living on board.”

“Following several months of design and rewarding exchanges with the Excess team and Jean Marc Piaton, we’re taking the time to refine the design in detail and in manufacturing optimization. We can’t wait to see the boat sail!”

Jean-Marc Piaton

A word from Jean-Marc.

“We heard from around thirty people who spoke to us about the brand (in-house people, dealers, owners, and charter companies, among others), and what emerged was a very positive and, above all, highly identifiable perception.”

“This is both very rare for such a young brand, and very interesting when considering its design.

Hervé Piveteau, Product Manager at Excess, had high expectations of lightness, both real and perceived, and wanted this new model to fit in well with existing models, without creating too strong a break.”

A New Model in 2024

We’ll keep you posted with the latest news on this new model.

In January 2024, at the Düsseldorf boat show, Excess will be revealing the name and the first 3D images of the new yacht.

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Merfyn Owen, Marc Lombard & Britton Ward on the Class 40

• August 13th, 2016

Since I set first set foot on a Class 40 Racing Yacht – the Pogo 40 operated by Sailingisland.de on a fast trip to the Island of Helgoland and back (read it here and here ) – I was fascinated by this class: Seemingly effortless fast sailing with +10 knots even in light breezes, fantastic behavior of the boat beating, reaching and close hauled and a load of space on a 40 feet boat only comparable to +45 feet ordinary boats. Pogo-Virus had me.

Competition is tight and there are a handful of yacht designers and brands offering their ships to both professional and Corinthian sailors. I talked to Merfyn Owen of Owen Clarke Design , Marc Lombard on behalf of the well-known Akilaria Class 40-boats and Britton Ward of renown Farr Yacht Design Bureau in the States on their Kiwi 40 FC-designs.

“We felt we could design a better boat than Pogo Structures.”

I first asked the three designers when and why their design bureaus entered the Class 40 competition.

Marc Lombard: “We first started to design Akilaria Class 40 boats in the year 2005. This was after the creation of the Class Box Rule and Pogo Structures did sell a lot of Pogo 40/1. We felt, we would be able to design and build a lighter boat with a better shape within that rule by keeping it simple to build on a production basis in the same way. First Akilaria hit the waters in 2006 and this RC1-version  has been built 22 times in total. From 2009 we did 12 boats of the RC2 and starting in 2012 we are now having our fifth Akilaria RC3 launched. We are currently on a more “proto development”, which one could call the RC4.”

Merfyn Owen: “Our first Owen Clarke Class 40 was launched in 2005 as well. The last of our designs was launched in 2014 with boat number 17. The first of our fifth generation Class 40 racer design is build in South Africa and boat eighteen been ordered already.”

Britton Ward: “In 2009 the class was a rapidly expanding market area and one in which we felt our design capabilities and history were well suited. We began by developing a range of concepts and in October 2009 we contracted with Lapo Ancillotti´s BTBoats of New Zealand to develop a new limited production Class 40 design with the first boat finally launched in August 2010 built by Cookson Boats. The second boat followed in May 2011 and the third Kiwi 40FC was constructed by Hakes Marine in Wellington, launched in January 2012.”

 “Corinthians racing alongside Professionals, that´s still one of the great things of the Class 40”

NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Thanks again, Gentlemen, to spend some time answering my questions. Let´s begin by exploring how and why you three decided to have Class 40 designs produced. What´s the fuzz about the Class Rule and the boats all about? What´s so exciting from your point of view?”

Merfyn Owen/Owen Clarke Design: “This class has been the largest offshore racing class in the world for many years now partly because the rules are stable – with only well considered changes. From the beginning the rules were written to keep a cap on cost and although over the years the boats have become more highly developed and are no longer the racer-cruisers the class began with, limits on construction materials, sail inventory and appendages have kept these boats affordable. Personally I liked very much the fact that it allows Professionals as well as Corinthian sailors to race alongside each other in local and famous international regattas.”

Britton Ward/Kiwi 40 FC: “From its inception the Class 40 rule has sought to promote fast, high performance offshore-capable boats that are well-suited to short-hand-sailing. This is the result of a relatively strict and stable set of rule controls that try to limit build costs and produce equitable performance between different boats. From my point of view, the final ingredient is indeed a diverse calendar of events covering the spectrum between inshore crewed racing, coastal short distance sprints, classic offshore races and trans-atlantics. Many of the boats have completed circumnavigation and we might see another Global Ocean Race for the Class 40´s before too long.”

Marc Lombard/Akilaria: “I agree. The great thing with the rule is that by measuring available righting moment and limiting the sailplan area it was possible to design a “production boat” available to a broad number of demanding owners involved in ocean racing. This boat would last a while not being downgraded totally if ne prototypes where to come on the market. I would also agree that the success has come with all the very strong races, partially mixed with IMOCA 60 events attracting many sailors. More than 30 sailors get usually registered in many transat races just on Class 40´s! But on the other hand, what has been true for many years due to the success and more and more professionals entering the game there´s a necessity of constant innovation and progress. The Top 10 of them will always find tricks to have a better machine.”

The Big Name amongst Class 40 Yachts: Akilaria

NFS.com: “Marc, Akilaria is a well know name in Class 40 racing. As you have told us, there´s currently the RC3 third generation of the boat available. Tell us more about the main characteristics of Akilarias and the major developments from iteration to iteration. What´s so special about the RC3?”

Marc Lombard: “With the Akilaria RC1 we tried to build the boats at the minimum allowed weight and at the maximum righting moment. This happened to be “not so easy” with a production boat as you might imagine. But we finally designed a very good hull shape with plenty of available power upwind and very strong oceangoing capabilities in terms of seaworthiness all round. Later, on the RC2 we went for a more optimized construction: A more “regatta dedicated” boat with less freeboard, an optimized sheer line to the rule. On RC2 we also introduced a new optimized keel profile, the option of having lifting rudders in the design, which was also some gain in the total drag in certain sailing conditions. We also went for a more “racy” interior that was totally dedicated to racing, skipping comfort for cruising.”

Marc Lombard: “With the RC3 third generation Akilaria we opted for a completely new design, a new hull with more volume of the forward underbody. That was improving the boat for upwind and reaching conditions, we added slightly more freeboard which in fact was again closer to RC1-design which was so seaworthy. Also, lifting rudders again was offered as an option, but overall the RC3 offers a much more comfortable deck plan, totally dedicated to single and double crew sailing with very good protection and ease of maneuvering. Last not least, a very optimized sailplan came through as a necessity, as the class became more professional. What´s special about RC3? It is very close to real prototype design, built as “one off”, with similar performances, but with a price that stays within the “production boats”-range. To make it clear, this is a boat that can be sailed with a budget of around 350.000 euros – compared to the latest “one off protos” where budget is closer to double of that price.”

Marc Lombard: “Most exciting features of an Akilaria? RC1 and RC2 I would say are very, very strong seaworthy boats. The RC3 has a very good “all round performance” but with high points up and downwind. The very latest protos can be slightly faster on a reach, but overall the RC3 still performs very well. Strength of the construction is constantly improving and the boats are sailed increasingly harder. As a logical result few boats have encountered problems. For example, when the sailors keep all the speed upwind in very rough weather, facing huge waves. But as a general statement, boats are designed to withstand more loads that what is required in classification society and CE regulation. Much stronger than regular production cruisers.”

Close Competition and Highly Praised Boats: Owen Clarke Design Class 40

NFS.com: “Merfyn, your brand is well known in the class and elsewhere to being able to produce highly capable racing designs. I personally was able to roam about on two of your Class 40 boats and was impressed by the impression these yachts made in terms of rigidity and sturdiness of the design. What´s characterizing an Owen Clarke Class 40 boat?”

Merfyn Owen: “Race winning potential of course has to be a given for any race boat. Feedback has always been however that our boats are very well balanced, easily driven and very fast/easy to handle in big seas. Reliability has been a feature of the class, with relatively few serious incidents given the millions of miles the boats have sailed so far. A number of Owen Clarke boats have now completed well over 50.000 miles and in the ten years our boats have been racing we’ve had only one dismasting, which has been the most serious incident to date. So in short, I think our boats are known to be fast, reliable and with very good handling characteristics. Our boats have all been polyvalent designs. That means, they are not optimized for any one condition.”

Merfyn Owen: “As we’ve never had a professional race team involved on our 40´s our boats have been designed for owners to win on a variety of courses, not just optimized for one transatlantic race every one or two years. Feedback from sailors have our boats as the best – or at least as quick as the quickest – in upwind and downwind VMG conditions. With the new crop of reaching orientated boats like the Mach 40 and Tyker 4 we’re addressing this to some extent with our new 5G design by winding up the dial in terms of reaching performance to some extent sacrificing some of the upwind and downwind advantage we’ve had in the past. The 5G remains however a polyvalent design in conception.”

NFS.com: “How do you improve the design?”

Merfyn Owen: “We are constantly learning from the sailors. Of course we do sail the boats a lot ourselves, so on the water experience is key. Also the rules change from time to time and new technology becomes available and is quickly introduced into the class. We also use weather databases and routing technology to optimize our boats for particular courses or events when this is applicable. For example, most recently Boat #143 LONGBOW was the first Class 40 to be optimized for races on the east coast of the United States.”

Smallest Fleet, Huge Brand: Farr Design´s Kiwi 40FC

NFS.com: “Though United States-based Farr Design Bureau is one of the world´s leading yacht design capacities, the Kiwi FC40 hasn´t entered the circus in large numbers yet. What are the Kiwi´s main characteristics and will make her easily distinguishable from other designs?”

Britton Ward: “The Kiwi 40FC was one of the first Class 40’s to benefit from a comprehensive research program including extensive CFD simulation. The resulting hull shape has a number of signature features that are now seen in all the latest generation of other boats too. The boat features a pronounced, almost full length chine with very evenly radiused sections below to minimize wetted surface and provide a hull with a very even and consistent heel response in drag and helm load. The transom immersion levels and chine placement were carefully tuned relative to expected heel angles and water ballast weight additions to avoid excessive drag in light airs but maximize effective length when sailing at heel and speed. A lot of focus was placed in developing a hull that would achieve a dynamic bow up attitude when sailing at heel and speed so we see an LCB of the hull that is reasonably aft, and an aft placed keel and rig. In effort to maximize effective length forward and provide dynamic lift the Kiwi 40FC features a full stem and waterline ending – something now commonplace on new Class 40 and IMOCA 60 designs.”

Britton Ward: “What our boats makes special is the fact, that unlike many of the latest designs that have been focused exclusively on distance races, the Kiwi 40FC was developed from its inception as a dual purpose boat – suitable for small crewed inshore racing and offshore singlehanded racing. This required some compromises and allowance for design options and keel changes to re-mode the boat for different purposes. To this day the Kiwi 40FC is regarded as having perhaps the best all-around performance on different points of sail. Kiwi 40FC´s have completed circumnavigations and competed in multiple Fastnet races, transat races, US Atlantic Cups and many other races where podium places have been achieved. To date we have had no reports of any significant damage.”

On the Owners of Class 40 Racing Yachts.

NFS.com: “Who is buying these boats?”

Marc Lombard: “Our customers are sailors who want super sensations of ocean racing without a need of huge sponsors – but on a highly competitive boat.”

Merfyn Owen: “In terms of owners we have a wide spread of nationalities, although we’ve never had a new boat built for a French client. Our new boat clients have been American, British, Scandinavian, German to name a few. Used boats have gone on to be purchased by South Africans, Australasian and – at last – French too.”

Britton Ward: “Kiwi 40 FC boats were originally bought by private owners with a broad range of experience levels and intended racing programs. All three of our boats are still being raced competitively”

On Improvement of Class 40 Racing Yachts & The Future of the Class

NFS.com: “Where would you say is most room for improvements for your respective boats and the Class 40 in general? Are there any follow-ups of your current designs hitting the waters anytime soon and what can be expected from the Class 40 in – let´s say – five years?”

Britton Ward: “Over the intervening years we have continued to monitor the performance and developments in the Class 40-fleet and feel there is still a lot of room for innovation and development. We have advanced concepts for a new generation of Class 40’s with further hull refinements and alternate deck and interior arrangements and are continuing discussions with potential partners with the hope of bringing a new generation of Farr Class 40s to the market place in the future. What about the future? Offshore yacht design is advancing rapidly with continued improvements in construction methodologies. The continued evolution of canting keels and the advent of dynamic stability foil systems has also advanced. How many of these technologies are permitted in the Class 40 is a question the Class will have to continually wrestle with. One of the reasons for the class’s success to-date has been its adherence to cost-restriction and its accessibility to both Corinthian and Professional sailors. If the class stays true to these principles then I expect the Class 40 typeform to evolve gradually with top performance being achieved by those teams that combine the best sailing with excellent design, refined sails and top quality construction.”

Merfyn Owen: “Providing the rule remains stable it will be a progressive change in the boats nothing radical. You may not even see a great physical difference and for sure some of the boats that exist now will still be on the podium in five years time.“

Marc Lombard: “We are working on an Akilaria RC4 right now, but from my point of view, evolution of the class leads to the fact that we will probably build less and less boats of the same model. This will make the boats become much more expensive, unless something is really done to limit the sailing budgets. Boats are improving all the time, but if you ask me, if nothing serious is done about limiting the budgets adapting the class rules, we could see less than ten boats on a future starting line. For sure, we are at a crucial timing about future development. As on Classe Mini 650 creating or limiting the entry to boats having a minimum of production could maybe a solution. That´s a difficult problem I would say. The class needs progress to be attractive, thus there´s a necessity of new designs, but in the same time we need “not to progress too fast” to stay within reasonable budgeting limits.”

NFS.com: “Gentlemen, thank you very much for providing some answers on Class 40 and giving an intimate insight in your respective boats, constructions and points of view.”

This is how I´ ve experienced my very first sailing with a Class 40 racing yacht

Another interview with Yacht Designer Marc Lombard on his legendary Figaro 2 racing yacht

British young professional Lizzy Foreman on IMOCA 60-sailing

40 years of Naval Architecture

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