Mike Golding’s Owen-Clarke / Clay Oliver designed Open 60 (formerly Ecover 3) is currently undergoing major work at Green Marine in the UK, with a view to optimising the boat with the aim of winning the next Vendée Globe. A huge number of modifications have been requested by Mike Golding, who wants to ensure the monohull is even faster, and is more comfortable and reliable. Merfyn Owen stresses that when the former Ecover 3 was first conceived, it was a multi-purpose boat, in-shore and offshore, crewed and solo, but now the boat is being reconfigured specifically for solo racing.
In the cockpit, a new coach roof is being fitted with more protection and a sliding section to open the area for manoeuvring. The wheels steering is changed to tillers which allows the steering position to be much further forwards and underneath the new coachroof. The second coffee grinder winch system has been removed and the cockpit is smaller, saving weight while at the same time keeping the same amount of power. The team is in fact busy trying to save weight throughout the boat.
Technical Project Manager, Joff Brown, ran through the modifications, “Mike wants the boat to be super light and super reliable whilst retaining all the power. The biggest change to the yacht is that we are building a new non rotating mast with a classical configuration and as a consequence there have to be several significant changes on the deck and cockpit of the yacht to accommodate this.”
The new mast, boom and a state of the art carbon fibre rigging package is being completed now by Future Fibres in Valencia Spain. The sails are 3Di a new manufacturing process which makes them stronger, lighter and they hold their shape better. As for energy, they are changing to hydro generation for power, taking out the larger fuel tank and putting in a smaller one, again to save weight and space. As well as a lighter keel bulb and updated electrics and electronics systems, the last major change is to move the mainsheet track further forward, towards the mast, which will give better sail control and centralises the weight of the boat.
