Design a sturdier IMOCA with less wave damage
Malizia III is a VPLP design for The Ocean Race 2023 and Vendée Globe 2024, launched in 2022. It is an evolution of the Hugo Boss, DMG Mori and Charal I of the 2020 Vendée Globe and was inspired by the latter. On his return from the last round-the-world race, Boris Herrmann came up with the idea of a boat that could handle the sea better. "Although he's happy with his Vendée Globe, he realized that the hull shape created certain difficulties in passing through the sea. He didn't make full use of the foils in the southern seas. He wanted a boat that would go through the sea well, with a hull that would follow to make good use of the foils, as boats don't fly all the time. VPLP listened carefully and applied Boris's requests to the letter begins Pierre-François Dargnies, technical director of Team Malizia.
Malizia-SeaExplorer has a bow with more rocker to avoid "Everyone found the architecture curious and criticized it when it was launched, before we demonstrated that it's a high-performance boat. In the IMOCA rules, there are the box rules, but there's also the less visible part of stability. The boat has a very high freeboard for safety in heavy seas. Stability was taking a bit of a hit. We added this prominent cabin, which also affects comfort. To compensate for this 180° instability, we added a large roof, which makes it easy to return to a straight line in the event of heeling. In this way, we have countered the fact of having a fairly high hull with a high center of gravity. It also makes for great versatility. We can sail with a light or heavy bulb, where other boats can't opt for a light bulb, which makes them unstable.". To meet the demands of the double round-the-world program, the structure has been made more robust and the foils more versatile.
Architecture to counteract lack of stability
Ocean Race, she had a reputation as a heavy boat, but that's not the case. The heavy bulb is imposed by the rules. It's a crewed race, so the safety rules are more drastic. On the Vendée Globe, the boat is less laden, so you have more freedom with your equipment. On the crewed round-the-world race, you have 80 liters of emergency diesel (editor's note: compared with 20 on the Vendée Globe), and more water. We've saved a few hundred kilos. It's a virtuous circle, because we've been able to play with the bulb weights and lighten them, since the boat is more stable"> "The living area was too big, too cold and Boris couldn't see himself spending 3 months there. He wanted something more cocoon-like, an area where no energy is wasted between the bench and the galley. Everything is grouped together in 2 m2 at the rear of the cockpit. A bit like Macif. We have a cushioned bench seat, with the same type of Bultex mattress as Charlie Dalin. The watch seat is aft with the computer, and if you take a step forward, you'll find yourself in the cockpit, equipped with a second watch seat. It's a pretty nice space, you don't break your vertebrae like you used to. We've validated it on the two transatlantic races, the New York Vendée and the Transat CIC. He finished 2nd twice, which isn't bad, with a boat in good condition and in an acceptable state of fatigue. He's ready to string together the number of days needed to complete the tour." explains Pierre-François Dargnies.
transatlantic races, one was upwind and the other downwind, and he's right up there in the game."> A boat designed for strong winds and homogeneous for the Vendée Globe
hydrogen generators as much as possible at the start of the race, until we reach the point where we have enough diesel to finish, or use diesel first to lighten the boat and finish the round-the-world trip on hydrogen. In the event of a breakdown, we'll have a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, but it will be possible to complete the circumnavigation by reducing the amount of energy used on board."
