comanche yacht keel

Published on December 23rd, 2014 | by Editor

Comanche: Designer notes

Published on December 23rd, 2014 by Editor -->

Designers Guillaume Verdier and VPLP Architects provide notes on the 100-foot Comanche… Launched in September 2014, Comanche resulted from the studies realised on the Macif and Banque Populaire IMOCA 60 monohulls, who finished first and second in the 2012 Vendée Globe.

What distinguishes her from her 100-foot competitors, such as Wild Oats or Perpetual Loyal, is her great beam, her high mast which is placed very far aft, and her boom perpendicular to the transom.

Comanche is a virtually narrow boat; she is made to sail heeled thanks to the appendages’ plan. As such, she enjoys a high fineness ratio sail plan. Inside, the structure is optimized to make the boat more resistant to damage. The cockpit was designed bearing in mind manual manoeuvres to gain weight.

Guillaume Verdier: “Comanche is not just an object, it is the result of a great collaboration with skipper Ken Read, the Tim Hacket / Casey Smith team, and the boat builder Brandon Linton. We all enjoyed working on this project. It was a positive and constructive collaboration: every mistake or difficulty was an opportunity to bounce back and find new ideas.”

Vincent Lauriot-Prévost: “After the IMOCAs, this was our first exercise in the 100 footer monohull category. As light as possible, as strong as possible, such was the equation we shared with Guillaume Verdier. Her very powerful hull, her maximum draught to enter most marinas, her low freeboard height and side water ballasts make her the most powerful ship in the 100 footer fleet.”

During the Solas Big Boat Challenge, on December 9th in Sydney Harbour, Comanche’s first confrontation with her Sydney Hobart contestants revealed all the boat’s potential in light conditions.

Ken Read, the skipper, after the Solas: “We were very pleased with how the boat went upwind, we could not have been happier with how Comanche went. She was designed to do exactly the opposite of what we had today. This boat is a beast. Do we know how it will handle (the tough conditions off the New South Wales coast and Bass Strait), will it stay in one piece? We have no idea.”

Jim Clark, the boat’s owner, will present Comanche at the start of the Sydney Hobart on December 26th. Ken Read, the skipper, and his 28 crew members will aim for line honours for this boat who’s more dedicated to records and speed. After the Sydney Hobart, Comanche should tackle the crewed Transatlantic Record, currently held by Mari Cha IV.

Shipyard: Hodgdon Yachts, Maine, USA Length: 30.45 m Approx. Beam: 8 m Draught: 6.80 m Clearance: 47 m Upwind sail area: 760 m2 Downwind sail area: 1100 m2 Displacement: under 30 tonnes

Design – Collaboration: Guillaume Verdier & VPLP Guillaume Verdier Architecture Navale: Romaric Neyhousser / Benjamin Muyl / Hervé Penfornis and Guillaume Verdier VPLP Design: Philibert Chesnay / Xavier Guilbaud / Simon Watin / Daniele Capua and Vincent Lauriot Prevost Skipper: Ken Read, assisted by Casey Smith and Tony mutter Boat’s Owner : Jim Clark

Associated to project Len Imas assisted by Romain Garo – computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Pure Office – double structure check Sail designers, managed by JB Braun Jamie France and Thia Win – Daggerboard systems Gianni Cariboni engineering office – hydraulics Refraschini engineering office – Daggerboards, keel and bulb Southern Spars engineering office Jon Williams – Winches Hasso Hoffmeister – Germanisher Lloyd check Martin Prince – Model basin.

Additional information

Tags: Comanche , Guillaume Verdier , Ken Read , VPLP

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Comanche sets new Transatlantic Race record

Related articles, superyacht directory.

The 30.48 metre sailing yacht Comanche has set a new monohull race record after taking Monohull Line Honours in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race.

Skippered by Mitch Booth, Comanche and its crew completed the 3,000 nautical mile race from Lanzarote to Grenada in seven days, 22 hours, 1 minute and 4 seconds (that's two days quicker than the previous record holder).

Constructed in carbon fibre by American builder Hodgdon to a design by VPLP/Verdier Maxi, the yacht was delivered in 2014 after being commissioned by software mogul Jim Clark.

This is not the first time Comanche has tasted success – since its launch the yacht has set several speed records, most notably sailing from New York’s Ambrose Lighthouse to the UK’s Lizard Point in five and a half days in 2016.

The sailing yacht also finished in second place during the 2014 Sydney Hobart race and broke a 24-hour record in the 2015 Transatlantic Race after covering 618 nautical miles in one day.

Described as a “Laser dinghy or 49er morphed with rocket ship” by BOAT’ International's own Marilyn Mower , Comanche ’s defining feature is its comparatively wide 7.6 metre beam which helps save weight, in turn increasing its speed.

Other notable features include its rig which rises 47 metres above the water and a solid stainless steel keel.

Comanche is the largest yacht entered in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race and the team must now wait until the remaining competitors have crossed the finish line, to see if any of the 21 teams performing can eclipse their corrected time.

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Comanche sets a new RORC Transatlantic Race record and win the IMA Trophy

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The Yacht Owner

Choose Smart for Happy Sailing!

Comanche – A Fast Racer

October 18, 2015 By Daniel Mihai Popescu 2 Comments

Comanche is a 100ft (30.5 meters) sailing yacht, which has been built with the scope to break every yachting record possible, winning prestigious yacht races, and meaning that it will probably become the fastest. The beautiful yacht, a Super Maxi class, has been commissioned by the Netscape creator, James H. Clark and his wife, the former Victoria’s Secret’s Australian model, Kristy Hinze.

The sleek black and red yacht has been built under a contract with a lot of confidentiality clauses by Hodgdon Yachts from Maine. Comanche has one of the largest single-infusion hulls constructed in America, and even globally. The oven used to cure the hull and superstructure is the largest one in the United States, and has been built by Hodgdon Yachts itself. They have been using advanced composites for several years, both for yachts and for military projects.

Super Maxi Class Yacht, Comanche

The naval architects are Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) and Guillaume Verdier, acknowledged names in the racing world. The 150 foot mast has been constructed by Southern Spars and the sails are from industry leader, North Sails , including a spinnaker of more than 11,000 square feet. Launched in September 2014, Comanche is the result of studies of the IMOCA Macif and Banque Populaire, first and second in the 2012 Vendee Globe. Different from her other 100′ rivals, like Wild Oats XI or Perpetual Loyal , with her large beam, her mast far aft and a boom directly over the transom, Comanche has a much larger sail plan. The cockpit has been designed for manual maneuvers rather than hydraulic and therefore saves weight. Comanche has a powerful hull shape and a maximum draft of 6.5m in order to enter most ports. With a low freeboard and lateral ballast the center of gravity has been lowered to gain power.

Comanche and its crew, downward view

Comanche is commanded by renowned US skipper Ken Read, and raced by a world-class crew of twenty-one international sailors.

Her performances, like what Ken Read has explained that happened during the Transatlantic Race 2015, an average speed of 25 knots per total, a top speed of 38.8 knots, and large distances passed in the mid 30’s knots, are things which will make me to dedicate more space to this kind of posts. I am thrilled by what man can achieve with a good boat, and pure racing, like this, using just the power of the wind and the ability to float over the furious waves, even to brake them if necessary.

Comanche Sails!! FAST!! from Onne van der Wal on Vimeo .

Above is a very short (too short) video made by Onne van der Wal, which shows Comanche sailing. Before publishing this, I have been looking for more videos, maybe more relevant, like I wish for this website to be, a better compilation of related sources on different matters.

So, I found this on YouTube, posted by sailingshack, where Ken Read presents the magnificent boat.

It really is a great boat, a very expensive one as well, it took $15 million to be built, and many millions more for the rest (called “campaigns”), and it made second place in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, losing to Wild Oats XI , and also second in the Transatlantic race 2015 (TR 15), loosing to Rambler 88 with a difference of only seven hours, which is really incredible, because in such a competition, they arrive at days distance. More on racing, in future posts, maybe I’ll make a new category.

I hope you like it and I’ll tell you more about yacht racing in general. What do you think, are you speed racers?

If you like what you read, please subscribe to this blog by completing the form . If you want to help more, start by following us on Twitter , and like our page on Facebook . You don’t know what good things may happen. To lighten your day, check our pins on Pinterest , we can be friends there too. Oh, and if you need a really good looking blog attached to your site, or just for fun, to express your feelings more competitively, read this Own Your Website offer! Thank you very much.

Copyright © 2015 The Yacht Owner – Comanche – A Fast Racer

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About Daniel Mihai Popescu

Daniel Mihai Popescu is a ship engineer with background in sea transportation, real estate, yacht brokerage, construction, entrepreneurship. Avid reader, traveled the world, explorer of the human nature. Never stopped learning, now I create and manage Wordpress based sites . • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • Instagram • Pinterest • Goodreads • Medium •

January 7, 2016 at 14:04

Buna ziua, Mi-as dori un articol scris de dvs. despre velierele cu chila leagan, swing keel sailboat cum sunt cunoscute. Multumesc.

January 7, 2016 at 20:31

Am să caut mai multe informații despre ele, mie tipul ăsta de chilă mi se pare o complicație inutilă deși îi văd utilitatea. Mi-ar face plăcere dacă v-ați abona la newsletter, șamd…

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Review of Comanche 42

Basic specs..

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The boat is equipped with 264.0 liter fresh water capacity.

The boat equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

The Comanche 42 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.98 - 2.08 meter (6.50 - 6.80 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Comanche 42 is 1.66, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Comanche 42 is about 204 kg/cm, alternatively 1144 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 204 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1144 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 37m 2 (398 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Comanche 42 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

Old Salt Blog

A virtual port of call for all those who love the sea , hosted by nautical novelist rick spilman.

Yacht Racing for Fun and Profit — Schooner America and Maxi Comanche

International yacht racing has traditionally been a sport for the rich. The cliche that a yacht is a hole in the water into which the owner pours money, is often repeated because it is, more often than not, highly accurate.

In rare cases, however, there are exceptions. One such example was the syndicated formed by John Cox Stevens , the founder and first commodore of the New York Yacht Club. The idea was to build a racing yacht to show off U.S. shipbuilding skill and to make money through competing in yachting regattas. 

The design of the schooner America was based on George Steers’ pilot boat designs, whose concave waterlines were influenced by the designs of American clipper ships. On August 22, 1851,  America won the Royal Yacht Squadron’s 53-mile (85 km) regatta around the Isle of Wight by 18 minutes and was awarded the squadron’s “One Hundred Sovereign Cup.” 

What does this have to do with the sale of Comanche ? Just as Comanche was sold shortly after her recent Sydney Hobart race, so too was the schooner yacht America sold within weeks of winning the One Hundred Sovereign Cup to John de Blaquiere, 2nd Baron de Blaquiere. I am not aware of any record of the transaction, but it was rumored that Stevens and his investors netted a tidy profit in the deal. Stevens and his team sailed home with the cup which would subsequently be known as the America’s Cup . 

In the first America’s Cup challenge race of 1870, the famous schooner was one of the competitors. After passing through several owners, including a short career as a Confederate blockade runner during the Civil War, schooner America was owned by the US Navy in the first America’s Cup race.  The schooner came in 6th overall.

Yacht Racing for Fun and Profit — Schooner America and Maxi Comanche — 5 Comments

Boat is a accronym. Bring On Another Thousand

I get so pissed off with “the rich man sport” bit. The sport employs tens of thousands of people worldwide in an industry which is nothing short of philanthropy.

This is a quote from my soon to be published book:

“Often associated with privilege and class, the reality could not be further from the truth. In it we participate in a dangerous sport in a confined space working with all creeds, colours, religions, ages, backgrounds and any other box that one might be put into and who you may or may not like. Regardless you must perform physically and mentally demanding choreographed manoeuvres, problem solve, work as a team and as an individual. More importantly, of an evening, you must socialise with your crew of all creeds, colours, religions, ages, backgrounds and who you may or may not like. As a sport, sailing creates young people with sound team working, man management and social skills of the highest level.”

It is the guys low down that the generosity of the guys at the top makes possible creates some of the best sport in the world.

The Comanche cost a reported $15 million to build. That doesn’t include outfitting, upkeep or crew costs. I have no doubt that the other four maxis in race cost more. To my mind, that is a rich man’s sport. This doesn’t mean that anyone with a boat is rich or that the thousands of those employed in the industry are rich either. This is also the case in all other “rich men’s sports” from horse racing to grand prix racing.

You can have a boat or you can have money. You cannot have both.P

I only wish sailboat racers knew to follow rules of the road. Or at least, not traipse back and forth across harbor entrances (pet peeve of Squalicum Harbor).

As to the rest, if some fraction of things that racers commission to design and build trickle down to reproducible technology the rest of us can employ, terrific. Fin keel with a hefty bulb? Antiquated in the elite racing world but at my level, I like . Buying one attached to a boat at an affordable price? Even better. And somebody else paid to cut all of that brush. 🙂

Sailing yachts like Mike Lynch's are 'unsinkable bodies', CEO of boat manufacturing firm says

Bayesian superyacht which sank off Italy is an "unsinkable" vessel, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, said.

By Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent and Eleonora Chiarella, producer

Sunday 25 August 2024 08:48, UK

Vessels like Mike Lynch's stricken superyacht are "unsinkable", according to the chief executive of the firm which makes and sells them.

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, told Sky News there are no flaws with the design and construction of the Bayesian superyacht which capsized in a storm off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, on Monday.

Five bodies were found by divers on Wednesday - taking the number of confirmed dead to six.

The Italian Sea Group also owns the firm that built British tech tycoon Mr Lynch's Bayesian, and Mr Costantino said the vessels "are the safest in the most absolute sense".

"Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats], I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built," he said.

"And as Perini is a sailing ship... sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever."

He said their structure and keel made them "unsinkable bodies".

Read more on this story: Why search of superyacht wreck has been so difficult Hero mum 'slept with baby on deck when storm sank yacht'

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Mr Costantino said news of the sinking "put me in a state of sadness on one side and of disbelief on the other".

"This incident sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," he said.

It is understood Italian prosecutors investigating the incident are continuing to hold interviews with the survivors.

On Tuesday they questioned the captain for more than two hours to help reconstruct what happened and provide useful technical details.

Four British inspectors are also in Porticello and have begun a preliminary assessment of events.

It is understood they will look at all relevant aspects of the incident, including the design, stability, and operation of the vessel. They will also examine the effects of the weather conditions experienced.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Twenty-two people were on board the vessel, 15 of whom were rescued - including Briton Charlotte Golunski and her one-year-old daughter Sofia.

Divers will resume efforts on Thursday morning to bring ashore a body they found earlier. One more person remains missing.

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Comanche and Powerplay lead stellar fleet in RORC Transatlantic Race

• Helen Fretter
• January 9, 2022

RORC Transatlantic Race sees a 30-boat fleet race from Lanzarote to Grenada ranging from 32ft double-handers to 100-footer Maxis

The eighth running of the RORC Transatlantic Race has attracted its strongest ever fleet, with a varied line up ranging from the 100ft canting keel Maxi Comanche to a double-handed team on the 32ft JPK 10.10 Jangada . Thirty teams, with crew from 27 nations, set off from Lanzarote to Grenada yesterday, Saturday 8 January, 2022.

Contesting for RORC Transatlantic Race line honours are three 70ft trimarans. Peter Cunningham’s MOD70 PowerPlay  made an impressive start, ripping off the line at speeds of over 30 knots, with a crew that includes America’s Cup sailor and double Olympic Gold Medallist Giles Scott on board. PowerPlay was first to clear the passage between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and after 24 hours of racing had a 40-mile lead over Jason Carroll’s MOD70 Argo (USA) and Giovanni Soldini’s Multi70 Maserati (ITA).

Before the start British multihull supremo Brian Thompson, who is tactician on Argo , commented: “It’s going to be a fantastic competition between four boats for Multihull Line Honours. The winner will be the team that manages these powerful boats, especially in the rough conditions, and the one that takes the best route. This year the trade winds are not as normal as they should be, so for the record we will have to wait and see. It is always exciting to race across the Atlantic; it hasn’t got any smaller or any easier!”

The 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race features three 70ft trimarans. Photo: James Mitchell/RORC

Also racing in the MOCRA fleet are Alex Thomson and Neal McDonald. Thomson, making his first competitive outing since announcing his retirement from IMOCA 60 racing , is sailing aboard Ken Howery’s Gunboat 68 Tosca . Tosca is one of many yachts still heading north-east as complex weather patterns sent many of the fleet north of the rhumbline, rather than the conventional ‘south ‘til the butter melts’ tradewind route.

Onboard photographer and crew member Patrick Condy reported: “Settling in well and speeding along. Ken Howery leads the max speed score – 26.1 knots! Not super warm onboard and only getting colder further north.”

Alex Thomson and Neal McDonald are aboard the Gunboat 68 Tosca in the 2022 RORC Transatantic Race. Photo James Mitchell/RORC

RORC Transatlantic tactics

Whilst there is a high pressure system north of the Cape Verde islands, a low-pressure system tracking from Nova Scotia is forecast to disrupt the north-easterly trade winds in the next 24 hours for the RORC Transatlantic fleet.

The key decision for the leading boats is when to gybe west; Go too early and the wind will decrease, go later and there is the possibility of 40-knot headwinds and big waves. This morning the 100ft Maxi yacht Comanche was first to turn their nose south-west towards Grenada.

Comanche is the largest yacht in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race. Photo James Mitchell/RORC

Comanche , skippered by Mitch Booth for its new owners, has an all-star cast onboard and will be eyeing the transatlantic record as well as monohull line honours. The giant monohull, often nicknamed the ‘aircraft carrier’ for its exceptional beam, is the current holder of the monohull west-east transatlantic time to beat (Ambrose Light – Lizard Point) at 5d 14h 21m 25s.

Also competing in IRC Super Zero are a number of former Volvo Ocean Race yachts, including the Volvo 70 L4 Trifork , with ocean racing legend Bouwe Bekking aboard as principal helmsman and strategist.

Some of the closest racing could be in the IRC Zero class, with the Botin 52s Caro and Tala going head to head, along with the Botin 56 Black Pearl . After 24 hours of racing the three had made equal ground to the west, Tala some 18 miles north of class leader Caro , with Black Pearl a similar margin further south.

Photo: James Mitchell/RORC Transatlantic Race

Within IRC 1 there has been a split in tactics, with some boats opting to take rougher sea conditions in favour of good breeze by heading north early, while boats that stayed further south are slowed in the wind shadow west of Tenerife island.

However, a long-term strategy may yet pan out for the southerly boats, as Chris Jackson explains from on board Pata Negra : “Looking at the extreme north track, it seems to us to be very uncomfortable and also risky on getting a route south later in the race, of course this could change. We are sticking closer to the rhumb line, which will hopefully give us a better route south later.”

Double-handed transat

Meanwhile the lowest rated yacht in the RORC Transatlantic Race could yet be one of the most competitively sailed. Jeremy Waitt and Richard Palmer are co-skippers of the JPK 10.10 Jangada , one of the most successful and experienced double-handed teams around.

Jangada is competing in the 2022 RORC Transatlantic Race double-handed. Photo James Mitchell/RORC

Richard Palmer commented before the start: “We are a small boat in a big ocean and looking at the weather we’re going to be in big waves, and our light boat gets rocked around much more than the larger entries. The biggest challenge for us is fatigue. With only two of us on board, staying awake is one of the biggest tests.”

Jeremy Waitt added: “Our biggest strength is that we have raced thousands of miles together, including this race, and in light winds we think we could take an advantage compared to the big boats. The bigger boats will tend to get much faster into new weather systems and that can be a disadvantage. For Jangada , the weather tends to come to us, so keeping out of rough weather is much harder.”

Follow the RORC Transatlantic Race tracker