Almost a year of design and more than 7 months of assembly were required to unveil the long-awaited IMOCA Arkea-Paprec. This 60-foot all-carbon monohull was built by and for Sébastien Simon, in collaboration with its Technical Director Vincent Riou and thanks to the team of 30 people who worked day and night to assemble the boat in-house, according to the plans of naval architect Juan Kouyoumdjian.
"We wanted to be autonomous in our planning and operation. We needed time and no pressure in the environment. So we decided to assemble the boat internally." explains Vincent Riou.
Arkea-Paprec is the first new generation boat to come out since Charal. The trio - skipper, technical director and architect - worked on the optimisation of the hull and the surface development to increase lightness, without compromising reliability and solidity. The centre of gravity has also been studied at length to be as low as possible and thus gain in power. Thus, the blue and red IMOCA should be versatile under several conditions. There is also a large, highly protected cockpit with a glass roof cap - certainly heavier - which will allow the skipper to control his boat while staying dry.
The 60-foot boat has really been designed around its foils, the main elements of Arkea Paprec, as explained by the Franco-Argentine architect: "It's a foiler, we designed it according to the new gauge rule. The hull we have designed allows us to make better use of the performance of the foils. In low speeds, the hull is essential and in high speeds, it is the foils. So you have to use statistics and agree to compromise on design."
"I was as passionate about construction as I was about running and I made half my dream come true, building a boat with everyone." explains Sébastien Simon, who learned to master composite on this project.
The IMOCA was put on the hold to be keeled. The launch and mast will take place this Friday, July 19, while the foils will be installed next Tuesday and Wednesday (July 23 and 24). The idea now is to get back into a more regular rhythm and take the time to discover this new boat. The first sailings will probably take place at the end of next week, before a first sail on the Rolex Fastnet in double with Vincent Riou.
The exit of the hangar in pictures
Photo credits: Yann Riou - Eloi Stichelbaut - Polaryse
