New Corby 50 launched

James Boyd spoke to designer/builder John Corby about his first all-carbon boat

Aside from Peter Harrison's new Wight Lightning, the British America's Cup team's new steed, just one other custom built race boat was being built in the UK over this winter. Owned by Oyster boss Richard Matthews and Oyster 68 owner Dr Jose Alvarez, Flirt is a new 50footer from designer John Corby and took to the water for the first time last weekend.

"It started at 46.5ft to which I added 18inches onto the front in the form of a flying bow," explains the designer. "As we were going to build the boat lightly I was after reserve buoyancy up front. Our thinking was that the flying bow was a good way of doing that." The flying bow Corby describes as being more like an America's Cup bow - although less extreme - rather than a normal IMS-type bow. It was also supposed to be a convenient platform from which to set asymmetrics.

The reason for the light weight is that Flirt is the first Corby designed and built boat to be constructed entirely in carbon fibre. Structured by SP Technology, she was built using what might be termed 'low tech' carbon fibre construction using uni and some bi-directional carbon fibre skins over an Airex foam core and with a wet lay-up using Amprex 22 resin cooked at 40degC. She was built by Corby and five of his "regular band of misfits" in a shed next to the chain ferry in Cowes.
"The finished hull and deck came in at 1.5 tonnes," says Corby. "The deck was lighter than my 41footer Barlo Plastics and at 50ft that 50% more deck area". Thanks to her carbon fibre construction Flirt weighs the same as the Corby 41 Independent Bear, built five years ago.

As they were midway through construction the Royal Ocean Racing Club made the announcement about the big boat class for the next Admiral's Cup and with it the call came from Flirt's owners to turn the boat into a 50 footer. "So we stretched the whole boat, blew the whole design up to 50ft half way through constructing the deck," continues Corby. "So we had to extend the deck foam and the inner skins at the front back and sides"

Although the Admiral's Cup is not the raison d'etre of the boat, Corby says it was silly to be building a 48 footer when RORC had made this announcement. "The Admiral's Cup is not an important part of the program for this boat," says Corby. "Important things are Cork and Cowes Weeks this year and to go to the Caribbean for the first half of next year. Then possibly Asia for King's Cup and leave and sell the boat in Australia in year number three". The boat will be raced by the owner's family and friends although Harold Cudmore was spotted on board at the weekend.

As she is effectively a scaled-up boat Corby says she is relatively small compared to the Farr 52s or Mandrake, but that her rating reflects this. She is designed primarily to race under IRC, but can hold her own under IRM and is suitably kitted out to comply with the latter rule.

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