Banking on winning

madforsailing has a crawl around Graham Dalton's Kingfisher development Hexagon and talks to designer Merf Owen

He has an equally compelling argument for the wheels. "Back when Jerry Roufs had a single wheel on Groupe LG, then they were bloody heavy. And people said 'we used autopilots 95% of the time - why do we need wheels?' But anyone who has sailed these boats any distance and has had to helm knows that it is a bloody nightmare! But having done Kingfisher and the EDS, we looked at the systems they were using on the Volvo and there's no weight in them. They're carbon or titanium wheels, kevlar pedestals, vectran linkage. I mean no Volvo boat would have a tiller!

" Kingfisher did more miles last year crewed than she did shorthanded and Graham's not the most experienced sailor in the world but one of the things he can do is steer. So we thought if we put wheels on at least we are catering to one of his strengths. And in Around Alone they are more opportunities when you might get an edge by handsteering - there are more stops and the boat spends more time in the tropics in light airs. It will also make it a significantly better crewed round the cans boat."

Modern Open 60s have tended to have large coachroofs in order to improve their righting characteristics under the IMOCA/FICO rules. But Hexagon's coachroof is a lot smaller and more streamlined and there is no cuddy to hide under as there is on Kingfisher, just a small opening to clamber down below.

One of the smartest pieces of the boat is the articulating bowsprit. This is at the maximum length of 1,8m (under Open 60 rules you can have up to 1.8m of either boom overhang or bowsprit or a combination) and cants by 35 degrees. The idea behind this is to crank the tack of the downwind spinnakers up to weather as you would with a conventional spinnaker pole in order sail deeper angles. This means greater boat speed off the breeze or, as Owen points out, you can run with everyone else but in greater confidence that you're not going to gybe the boat accidentally.

Articulating bowsprits have been tried on a number of Open 60s previously but have usually been removed because they break or just don't work. "Touch wood this one works!" says Owen. "I think possibly the difference is that this has been engineered into the boat from the very beginning and it was something we'd done a lot of work on (prior to getting the commission). The way it is done is quite different from other bow poles, I think it is very neat piece of engineering."



The bowsprit articulates around the forestay and pulpit mount. Note the single line furling mechanisms.