Vendée Globe

The monohull, DCNS, aboard which Marc Thiercelin will be taking part in his fourth Vendée Globe, was launched on Saturday 31st May 2008 in the presence of many personalities. The 60’ DCNS took nine months to build at the Multiplast yard in Vannes using designs from the Finot-Conq design team, who were responsible for the winners of the last three Vendée Globe races.

The specific know-how of DCNS (the French naval dockyard company) was used in the construction of the boat. Thus, the Group made the keel blade of special steels usually used for building nuclear submarines. At the same time, the experience and know-how of the Multiplast yard in Vannes enabled the hull build and the fitting of various pieces of equipment and the deck to run on schedule. The deck, which features two roofs and two companionways, was built at the Larros Boat Yard in Aquitaine on France’s West coast.
Marc Thiercelin: «If I had to summarise the features of the boat, I would say: extreme simplicity, light weight, reliability. It’s a boat that fits in perfectly with what I learnt from my previous four solo round the world voyages. I can’t wait to get on board to get the trials underway and take DCNS around the seven seas.» DCNS is a boat designed for ocean racing. The wheels are a long way back under the extended roof, so very protected, and the watch seats are under the covers. The boat has been fitted with a wing mast with outriggers, the spars that hang out on either side to ensure the mast stays in place, while allowing it to pivot in the axis of the wind.

A steel nuclear submarine keel

DCNS’s keel, a vital element, which affects safety and stability, but also the way the boat cuts through the water – and therefore her speed –was built by teams from the Cherbourg and Nantes-Indret DCNS units. It measures 4.50 metres in length and was built in two shells, using special steel of a high elasticity standard, usually made for nuclear submarines. To make it, techniques and specific tools from the defence sector were used, such as an electron beam welder.
The technological gamble for this appendage was the use of steel, while most of today’s racing yachts use carbon keels. Steel offers a wide range of qualities, distinguishing it from other materials, but its use is often rejected for weight reasons. The challenge was to achieve the same weight as with carbon and therefore use finer diameters, which was possible thanks to the exceptional quality of the metal and the industrial processes used by specialists at DCNS.

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