Introducing the Euro 42

Norwegian IMX 40 owner Sverre Valeur is building a new one design racer for the Baltic

Dissatisfied with IMS racing up in the Baltic, Bergen-based businessman Sverre Valeur, currently the owner of the IMX-40 Ocean Warrior, is attempting to get a new one design class off the ground.

The new Euro 42 is a design by Fietje Judel (the other half of Judel-Vrolijk) and the first boat is currently under construction at Hanse Yachts in Germany. What is interesting about the boat is that Valeur, coming from the perspective of an owner, has conceived it to be a multi-purpose boat designed not only for round the cans and offshore, but also with a little modification double handed racing.

For example while the boat is normally sailed by eight, to convert it over to short-handed mode the boat can have winches positions moved with relative ease enabling all lines to be led back to the cockpit, a roller furling jib can be fitted while there is a clever spinnaker pole arrangement whereby the pole can be fitted through two hoops on the deck, effectively turning it into a bowsprit/prod from which asymmetric kites on furlers can be flown. For shorthanded sailing 750kg of water ballast can also be pumped up a weather tank.

"One design racing is the only thing," Valeur told thedailysail adding on the subject of IMS. "When you come to these measurement things it costs you a load of money, buying a new boat or new things every year. I really think one design is the only thing which is going to last forever."

The new Euro 42 has not been designed with any measurement rule in mind - it is simply a fast, easily driven boat.

Another issue with the Euro 42 is one of price. An obvious choice, in theory at least, would be to go for one of the new ORC GP 42s but Valeur says his new boat is less than half the price. "If you comply with those rules you have to build it in carbon fibre and this boat is going to cost 195,000 Euros while a GP 42 will be more than 450,000. If you are going to build a class and you are going for the most expensive boat then the class will be very small and that is not what I want. I want a big class with a lot of sailors and a lot of competition where the first over the line is the winner."

While a fully tricked up GP42 will certainly be the faster boat, it won't be by much. Judel's VPPs indicate the performance of the boat will be somewhere between a Farr 40 and a new GP 42 quoting speeds of 5.8 knots VMG upwind for the Farr, 6.1 for the Euro 42 and 6.2 for the GP 42. Reaching at 100° in 20 knots the Euro 42 in theory goes 11.9 to the GP 42's 12.2 while VMG running in the same wind the Euro 42 goes 10.5 knots to the GP 42's 11 - although the reaching and running speeds assume the hull is planted in the water and not planing. In fact reaching in 20 knots Valeur believes his boat is more likely to be sailing at 20+ knots and says it will plane in 15 knots of breeze.

From the drawings, the boat appears to have fairly spindly foils. Construction of the hull is in E glass/Corecell foam/epoxy with carbon fibre longitudinal stiffeners and composite bulkheads. Above deck the boom is aluminium, while the mast is made of carbon fibre as is the spinnaker pole.

At present Hanse Yachts have two boats under construction and Valeur says he is in negotiation at present with a further five or six owners. "My thinking is that next year in Kiel we have to have five boats." While Valeur is presently doing the marketing of the boat himself, he is hoping that Hanse Yachts may also help with the marketing.

In addition to his chums in the Baltic IMS fleets he has also been talking to companies looking to use the boat for match racing or corporate racing.

It will be interesting to see whether the Euro 42 does strike a chord with owners. Certainly the price tag will and one wonders if the ORC have been a little too high spec with their boat.

To read more about the Euro 42 click here

More illustrations on page 2...