A 60-foot Finot-Conq from the IMOCA Vendée Globe 2008-2009
Ourson Rapide is a fast cruising sailboat of 60 feet designed byFinot-Conq and built in Vannes byMultiplast. Launched in 2009 for its owner Paolo Roasenda, it comes out of the molds after the three IMOCA 60s that Multiplast delivered for the Vendée Globe 2008-2009 (Générali, BritAir, DCNS). The sponsor's program: a long fast voyage with a reduced crew, with the hull of an Open adapted for cruising.
Hull design: an IMOCA adapted for cruising
Finot-Conq starts from the wide carbon hull of recent IMOCA designs then replaces elements unsuitable for cruising. The canting keel of racing yachts is replaced by aretractable keel — draft 2.40 m / 4.00 m — to access shallow harbors. Sideballast tanks (2.2 t each) serve the same purpose as the canting keel: they stiffen the boat and reduce heel without the hydraulic complexity of an IMOCA. The rig typeC-Wing — without shrouds or stays — eliminates tension adjustments and allows for a roached mainsail.
Technical specifications
- Hull length: 18.28 m
- Beam: 5.40 m
- Draft: 2.40 m keel up / 4.00 m keel down
- Light displacement: 15 t (ballast 4.8 t, side ballast tanks 2.2 t each)
- Sail area: 246 m² upwind, 425 m² downwind
- Construction: Nomex sandwich / carbon prepreg cured at 120 °C, integral from keel to masthead
- Rigging: C-Wing without shrouds, carbon mast
- Layout: four cabins, four heads, aft panoramic saloon
Achievements and program
Ourson Rapide competed in theARC 2009 (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, Las Palmas — Saint Lucia) in its launch year. The boat then went on to complete transatlantic passages and long seasons with a family / reduced crew, the mode for which it was designed.
