Vendée Globe

Already back in 2000, Michel Desjoyeaux worked alongside the Finot Group designers to get them to incorporate some of his ideas to his Open 60. And, again this time the boat which won Desjyoeaux for the second time, built in collaboration with the CDK Technologies yard includes many design ideas based on his experience.
 

Michel Desjoyeaux’s decision to take part again in the Vendée Globe again was part of his drive to take part in a broad range of sailing activities. In 2006, even before his last Route du Rhum on the Géant trimaran, (4th behind Lemonchois, Bidégorry, Coville), the Desjoyeaux decided to have an IMOCA Open 60 built to designs by the Farr team.
He just had to wait to find a sponsor. From the outset of the design stage Michel Desjoyeaux paired with Vincent Riou to have two boats built at CDK Technologies in Port la Forêt, the yard run by his brother, Hubert.

The American design team propose a choice between three types of design: the standard base model, the personalised boat, and the exclusive model. The first is a design that is made available to other clients. The second is an enhanced version requiring additional studies based on the client’s requirements: there may be differences from the standard version in the hull, structure and appendages depending on the specific programme. Finally, the exclusive model is a unique design adapted to the needs of the racer. On Vincent Riou and Michel Desjoyeaux’s monohull, their specific requirements cannot be seen on the other IMOCA boats designed by Farr.

Hubert Desjoyeaux explains the construction process of the first model, PRB: “We had to get the boat in the water, so he would qualify for the Route du Rhum 2006. We should have started back in September 2005, but the designs were only completed at the end of November after reviewing the results of Transat Jacques Vabre and the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. The conclusions for this second generation of IMOCA monohulls designed by Bruce Farr came after Virbac-Paprec. We therefore decided to sub-contract part of the preliminary work: the hull mould was made by Marsaudon, while the deck mould was manufactured by CDK Technologies, so the parts could be built at the same time.”

Michel leaves his mark

The deck was built using a female mould without using a preform mould, as it was not necessary to be precise to the nearest millimetre. It was made using a piece of plywood cut out using digital technology on which was laminated a layer of carbon to offer stability and resistance to heat. The hull was made using a female mould using a pre-form. The number of laminate joins when the bulkheads were fitted was limited by integrating ballast bulkheads to offer longitudinal strength and by creating holes for pipes and cables before assembly, as the more work that is done before, the more time and weight you save. As the bulkheads are flat, they can be put into the autoclave, which offers further weight reductions.

«We worked together on the basic design of both boats (PRB and Foncia: design No.602.1 and 602.2), then Vincent Riou developed his own boat and my team did the same. There are however many details that are different. The following designs from Farr (Delta Dore, Paprec-Virbac, Gitana 80 : plans No. 610) were very different, while the latest prototype (BT) is very close to PRB. This wide range of designs does not really matter as everyone knows where the differences lie. The hulls are basically the same, but the cockpits and interior fittings are clearly influenced by their skipper.
The speed differential depends quite simply on weight and the fine-tuning of the build, essentially for downwind sailing. Above all, we worked on eliminating unnecessary weight. For example we removed the outside pipes from the ballast tanks, which meant putting in place protective careening. We attempted to cut weight as much as possible and place it centrally as this offers stability: the centre of gravity is therefore very low. All the halyards cross the deck and come out in the cockpit via channels: this limits the number of sheaves, there are fewer bends and less rubbing and wear, as well as weight savings. Comfort is certainly reduced and everything is kept to a bare minimum,» explained Michel Desjoyeaux before the start of the Vendée Globe.

Foncia is therefore one of the lighter boats, but not the lightest. On the other hand, she is a boat that has an above-average power ratio (weight-sail) . She is a boat that can offer a potential performance above what the Farr design team came up with, as she is 300kg lighter than the standard version but with a heavier keel...

18,000 man hours…
Work began at CDK Technologies in 2005 with the manufacture of the moulds for PRB and Foncia: the Farr design team agreed to a construction using pre-preg which they traditionally only used for America’s Cup Class boats. Without using any revolutionary techniques, a lot of attention went into the details of her build with in particular Kevlar bulkheads and into the structural frames with the yard being heavily involved. Michel Desjoyeaux also spent a lot of time working on his deck layout, interior fittings, and interior layout…
The two sisterships were in fact not strictly identical: the coach roof is not in the same place, the control lines are organised differently, the cockpit controls are not the same, Foncia has only one door, a halyard tunnel and fewer winches.. Foncia is therefore lighter than PRB.

The boat was launched in late May and immediately took part in the 2007 SNSM record, which she won, then in the Transat Jacques Vabre that Michel Desjoyeaux won with Manu Le Borgne before finishing third in the return transatlantic race between Brazil and Port la Forêt… The 2008 season proved to be more difficult with a fifth place in the SNSM record and a retirement from the Artemis Transat after a collision with a sea mammal, which broke a daggerboard.

But the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe would set the record straight…

Dominic Bourgeois

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