About the Extreme 40
The concept of the Extreme 40 revolved around building an easy to sail, light weight, fully carbon fibre racing machine. The boat needed to be easy to transport from regatta to regatta, fit inside a normal 40ft shipping container on its own road trailer, and be quick to assemble.
The Extreme 40
The concept of the Extreme 40 revolved around building an easy to sail, light weight, fully carbon fibre racing machine. The boat needed to be easy to transport from regatta to regatta, fit inside a normal 40ft shipping container on its own road trailer, and be quick to assemble.
This year sees the third edition of the iShares Circuit. The boats are assembled by 3 crew in roughly 6 hours. The crew itself normally consists of 4 sailors + 1 non participant (often referred to as the fifth man), this ‘fifth man’ spot onboard gives a guest the opportunity to participate in one of the most exciting forms of sailing ever.
- Ready for take off? *
The magic of multihulls lies in their absence of counterweight, which makes them extremely light and responsive. The stability is provided by the shape of the structure, the Extreme 40 being a "rectangle" sitting on the water, but things change very quickly when the wind kicks in and one hull starts to fly: it's a treat for spectators, and a real challenge for the crew who have to maintain the balance whilst making the most of the boat's potential! As Dercksen explains, “The Extreme 40 is capable of reaching speeds of 40 knots, if you want an idea of what that feels like. It is like putting your head out of the window in a car when it is raining at 45mph (73kph)! Also, the Extreme 40 often flies a hull, sometimes over three metres above the water, giving the sensation of gliding like a bird.”
The generous sail area allows the Extreme 40s to sail faster than the wind, which might seem puzzling at first - in just 15 knots of wind, an Extreme 40 is capable of traveling at over 25 knots — but as Herbert explains: “If you get on a push-bike on a still day and start pedaling, the faster you go the more wind you feel on your face. This wind is created by your speed; sailors call it the apparent wind. The sails are designed and are adjusted by the crew to harness this wind and use it to increase the boat’s speed.”
35 kts Speed
The boat is estimated to reach speeds of 35 knots on flat water in around 20-25 knots wind. They will also fly a hull in as little as 8 knots giving the best visual impact in all round wind conditions.
Aircraft and Formula 1 production technology
The boat is produced in an autoclave from carbon fibre and Nomex core. This technology is normally reserved for aircraft construction or F1 car racing with limited use in yacht mast construction. Basically the autoclave is a pressurised oven that allows a much greater vacuum on the laminate, which is then baked at 120 Degrees Celsius. This produces the ultimate high strength light weight structure. The Extreme 40 is the largest boat ever built in autoclave and will set the new standard in mid size multihull construction.
