Assa light boat, sirree!

Jason Carrington gives James Boyd a guided tour of the Volvo Ocean 60 ASSA ABLOY

Going down the main hatch on ASSA ABLOY, you are presented with a different bulkhead arrangement from four years ago. Under the latest rules, there must be one extra water tight bulkhead and the rules now allow for there not being a full watertight bulkhead in the centre of the boat just forward of the mast. Instead on all the Farr boats we have seen there are two half bulkheads which look something like this < > giving the interior a much more open plan feel. It also allows more room to move sails around when 'stacking' down below. The opening in the forward of the two half bulkheads is covered by a lead-lined sheet to prevent the crew being radiated when the giant Inmarsat B antenna is operating forward (on the Volvo Ocean 60s the antenna can be mounted below decks because the Kevlar hull and deck are 'transparent' to radio signals whereas carbon fibre is not).

Just aft of the mast (keel stepped rather than deck stepped like the Open 60s) there is the galley which looks as if it has been made for children. In fact it is kept low again for easy stacking and there is an opening in the cabin floor down into the bilge where the cook stands. "It also gets the weight of the cook down," says Carrington. Like the hull most of the interior was made in a female mould and Carrington explains this got rid of the need for secondary capping - bulkhead apertures for example were all preformed in a female mould and vacuum bagged. "It takes twice as long, but saves a load of weight," explains Carrington.

There seems to be two distinct schools of thought on whether to locate the chart table aft or further forward behind the companionway steps. The Davidson and Frers boats have it forward and even within the Farr camp it is not decided - the chart table is forward on Team News Corp for example. Having the chart table aft as it is on ASSA ABLOY is good for communication - there is a hatch in the aft side of the island for the mainsheet winch through which navigator and helmsman can communicate - and Carrington maintains it is also the best place for the weight. "Having weight aft is key. Getting weight forward is never a problem. You can trim the boat forward easily. In the Southern Ocean you want everything at the back." As many boats in the fleet are using walkie-talkie or intercom systems on deck, other campaigns feel that the thru-hatch communication is unnecessary.