Our experience racing and winning in big boat fleets in the Med in recent years with boats like Tango, SuperNikka, and Alegre has highlighted the need for a fleet of modern light racing designs which can equally easily fit into the relaxed lifestyle of venues like Porto Cervo and St. Tropez.
After the expansion of the Mini-Maxi fleet around 2008 which culminated in the Maxi 72 Class, new big boat race projects intended for the Mediterranean have shifted towards this more dual-purpose model in which an aggressive racing design with light displacement and a powerful sail plan is combined with a more stylish deck and interior layout suitable for casual daysailing or weekending. This model has proven successful in the past, and in our view is ready for regeneration: a new racing-bred design for competition in a class of boats of similar size and type.
The factors for a successful regeneration include:
Our proposal design for this class combines a muscular shape featuring all of the performance attributes of our racing designs, cloaked in svelte minimalist styling. The deck is a stylish interpretation of a dedicated racing layout tweaked to allow relaxed shorthanded sailing, and can shift between these modes with no more effort than bringing out a set of cushions. The interior reflects the minimum layout envisaged, which many owners would appreciate as reflecting their personal balance of racing vs. cruising. With 1.9m headroom a lot of space is available to add the complete owners cabin, full galley, and other amenities which for other owners will be desirable, but not required by the class. IRC can account for the performance differences between these layouts as the extra accommodation will either increase displacement or decrease bulb weight with a proportional effect on the rating.
Our experience with our successful performance One Design Classes like the IC37 and Cape 31 shows that a tight, simple, and cost-effective box is critical to build the fleet size needed for success. To achieve this a few straightforward steps to control the costs of construction are needed, such as limiting the build to foam core and standard modulus carbon. Controls like this allow builders to produce high quality boats while holding construction costs down. Although any design that fits the criteria would be eligible for the class, a popular design from production tooling producing multiple builds would further reduces the costs of entry and allows class numbers to build more rapidly.
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The first IC37 has hit the water to rave reviews. Hull 001 was out sailing within 24 hours of her