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The Route du Rhum 2026, Destination Guadeloupe, adds an appendix 3 to the notice of race to regulate access to Vintage categories, including Vintage Multi. On paper, the framework aims to sort by seniority, fleet consistency and environmental criteria. In fact, it places the MOD70 generation in a regulatory dead end.
December 31, 2010, a date that becomes an entry filter
The heart of the system is based on a cut-off point in time. Boats launched up to December 31, 2010 enter the Vintage Multi category, provided they are not modified by more than 50% of their initial weight. To enter the Vintage category, for yachts built between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2024, the appendix requires compliance with at least 4 of the 6 eco-design rules.
This logic acts like a grandfather clause. A unit can be accepted because its last major transformation predates the threshold, whereas a technically similar boat launched a few years later falls under stricter constraints.
Eco-design criteria targeting materials and site processes
For boats built after 2010, the appendix applies directly to construction. It limits the use of carbon fibers, aramid (excluding sails), honeycomb cores and titanium to 10% of light displacement. It also prohibits curing or post-curing processes, with a ban on heating above 50°C during and after part manufacture.
In the text provided (Appendix 3 of the Notice of Race), this is presented as a way of framing current industrial methods on fast multihulls, based on high-performance composites and thermal cycles.
Foils, load-bearing rudders, load-bearing planes: the ban that reshuffles configurations
The appendix prohibits hydrofoils, any foil system that lifts part of the hull or creates a righting moment. This is a sensitive point, as it affects configurations that have become commonplace, including on modified MOD70s, but also on some older multihulls equipped with load-bearing appendages.
For projects that envisage a return to a more "classic" configuration, the ban doesn't solve everything, as other criteria remain blocking the way, notably series and materials.
The MOD70 case, an impossibility more than a preparation problem
All MOD70s are launched after January 2011. They therefore fall into the post-2010 regime. And that's where the problems come in:
- The series rule requires molds that have been used to produce at least 10 units, while the MOD70 series has seven boats.
- The material rule caps carbon, aramid, honeycomb and titanium at 10% of light displacement, whereas the MOD70s are built almost entirely in Nomex carbon to keep their announced weight at around 6.3 t.
- The high-temperature baking processes described as typical of these platforms are incompatible with the ban on temperatures above 50°C.
Even if we go back to an original configuration for the appendages, the series and the composite structure remain criteria that block eligibility.
Gitana 11 admitted, MOD70 excluded, discussion crystallizes on coherence
An article published on the Ultim website points up a contrast: Gitana 11, although in Nomex carbon, is presented as eligible for Vintage Multi because its major transformation dates back to 2009. On the other hand, similar boats launched after 2010 find themselves under the restrictive regime. The article also cites the maxi 80 Prince de Bretagne, launched in 2012, to illustrate this discrepancy in treatment over a period of several years.
This is one of the sources of criticism: the rule applies to an administrative date, not to a homogeneous technical logic for materials, processes and appendages.
Invitations, the only door still ajar for some MOD70 projects
The organizer retains the option of granting invitations and wildcards. Today, this is the only realistic option for MOD70s, as the "objective" criteria are difficult to meet. But what about ongoing projects that can't be satisfied with the uncertainty of admission?
In the end, Appendix 3 does more than simply "sort" boats. It redesigns the Vintage Multi category around a pivotal date, choice of materials and choice of appendages. And it is precisely this trio - date, composites, foils - that puts the MOD70 generation outside the frame, barring a discretionary decision...
