Owen Clarke Open 40

Merfyn Owen reveals details of his new offshore speedster

The creation of this Open 40 design has been driven by a number of clients who have expressed interest in offshore/ocean racing but do not have either the time, budget or inclination to involve themselves in the 50/60 circuit, now almost wholly the preserve of professional skippers and corporate budgets.

Accordingly, Owen Clarke Design has been working to produce the next generation Open 40 design which will deliver all the thrills and spills of Open class racing but without excessive outlay. Conceptually, the Open 40 occupies the middle ground of the Open class spectrum - the Mini Transats and the 60s representing the extremes both in terms of cost and the commitment required to extract the best from them.

This Open 40 is no less extreme in terms of the performance profile but, in line with current thinking on all our Open boats, we are striving to produce a more all-round and balanced profile that is as potent upwind as it is down. This is achieved by a careful blend of technologies and the on-going development of proven solutions from our current Grand Prix boats. The resulting synthesis is a single/short-handed ocean racer that delivers security, pace and value.

We already have a number of very interested clients and the boat is ready to build in Australia. The budget cost (subject to individual specification) of a yacht complete to builders trials, delivered to the port of Melbourne is £286,000 (subject to exchange rate fluctuation). Build time will be approximately seven months for the standard boat design. Construction is in all carbon skins over a foam core resulting in a lightship displacement of less than 3500 kg.

A hydraulically operated canting keel and water ballast/trim tanks afford quick and simple control over righting moment and weight distribution. For upwind work there is a single carbon daggerboard. The deck & cockpit layout is set up for being able to work as much as possible from the cockpit.

We see this as a perfect entry-level short-handed inshore/offshore racer, suitable for the AZAB, OSTAR, TJV or the Round Britain and Ireland.

For more information click here .

Or go to page two to see the lines plans