Mean Machine takes shape

Peter de Ridder's new TP52 to arrive in Spain in April

The 2008 season is set to be anything but uneventful for the Mean Machine team. Not only are they fully committed to the highly competitive Farr 40 circuit, but the brand new Mean Machine TP 52 is also just weeks from leaving the shipyard.

The new boat is once again a design by Rolf Vrolijk, whose hand has forged many a Mean Machine before, including Peter de Ridder's 2006 Breitling MedCup winner, and is being built at Salthouses in New Zealand. There the new TP 52 is starting to take shape.

Construction should take some five months in total began last October and some of the Mean Machine crew have been getting involved in the detail aspects of the construction process. New Zealanders Ray Davies and Tom Dodson have been keeping a close eye on developments, along with Construction Manager and Captain of the new Mean Machine, Chris Reid.

The new Mean Machine hull, built in carbon fibre has recently been finished and the team have now turned their attention to work on the brand new deck.

Peter de Ridder commented on the new design: “We’re not going to see a very different Mean Machine from the other new Vrolijk designs in terms of the hull, but the whole team has been working on developing an innovative layout for the deck area, which will be revealed when the boat comes out of the shipyard”.

Despite the team straddling Europe and the United States right now with the Farr 40 regattas, the supervision of the construction process has been exhaustive. “Our boat Captain, Chris Reid has kept us updated on a day to day basis and we’re currently right on schedule with the build,” continues de Ridder

The brand new Mean Machine TP 52 should be leaving the shipyard mid-March, to be loaded onto a cargo ship bound for Belgium. From there she will be carefully transported by road down to Valencia where the she will finally be put together from 22 April onwards.

There’ll be little rest for Peter de Ridder’s crew who’ll barely have time to step down onto the quay following the Farr 40 World’s in Miami, before rushing back to Spain to get the new Mean Machine race-ready.