Macif 101 then SVR Lazartigue
Successor to Macif 100, M101 was renamed SVR-Lazartigue at her launch on 22 July 2021. She embodies everything that VPLP has learned about the design of Ultim trimarans, expertise leveraged by François Gabart and his team MerConcept in their endeavour to build a boat capable of flying over the ocean for long periods.
While Macif 100 was designed to sail on average with 20% of her central hull in the water, there was no doubt that her successor’s goal was to achieve “dry-hull” sailing. “We started out completely from scratch,” says Xavier Guilbaud, project leader at VPLP, “to the point that we seriously thought about making her a catamaran! In the end we kept the trimaran for safety reasons and because it’s also the least extreme option.”
This didn’t prevent the design team from choosing certain radical options, in particular for the aerodynamics of the platform. For instance, the traditional canopy over the helm station has been ditched, while the living quarters and the cockpit have been integrated into the central hull. The boom is as low as possible and reduces windage to a minimum.
VPLP opted for a platform featuring straight beams with less pronounced downward curves so as to improve the efficiency of the after fairings and thus reduce even further the aerodynamic drag.
As for the appendages, the centreboard and the central rudder were designed in common with the Banque Populaire XI project to reduce costs. However the foils and float rudders are specific to each team. This unique design allows the skippers to develop their own personal take on the drag/stability compromise, in accordance with their own experiences and goals.
