McConaghy Ker 40 jumping onto the World’s stage

by John Curnow on 28 May 2011 The Ker 40 Keronimo has had her maiden sail. This boat’s sea trials on the Solent in the UK is especially important, as she is the first of the new IRC Racers to come out of the McConaghy Boats factory.

Certainly something that was always going to redefine the 40-foot performance benchmark was to be much anticipated, so in ideal sailing conditions, just a few got to see Jonathan Goring’s sensational, all-white wonder take flight. All were impressed with Jason Ker’s latest design and she is set to campaign hard in all of the major attractions during the Northern Summer.

You would hope that a skipper with a new boat would be thrilled; Jonathan was not only thrilled but incredibly excited and very complimentary of his new vessel. ‘Keronimo hits incredible upwind numbers for a 40 footer. She reaches a solid eight knots once powered up and then simply lights up once you head downwind. Keronimo tracks incredibly well with her crew’s weight on the rail and there’s also the added benefit that the crew hikes well aft, for a much dryer ride. Honestly though, our bowman isn't used to hiking behind the helmsman downwind! She goes like a train.

She’s just excellent!’

The Ker 40 is the first boat out from the latest range of high performance racing yachts to be built by McConaghy Boats. In addition to performing above expectations out on the water, back at the dock, she looks simply magnificent, displaying all of the characteristics the market expects from a McConaghy built vessel. Given that Keronimo is a production yacht, this is a remarkable achievement and testament to the efforts of the McConaghy team, in terms of her planning and production. Little wonder then that one critical dockside observer merely commented, ‘It is a work of art!’

Jonathan Goring then went on to add, ‘The build quality is just superb. We stress tested the boat in up to 30 knots of wind today and both the hull and Hall Spar rig stood up well.’

Joint Managing Director of McConaghy Boats, Mark Evans said, ‘We’re very excited about the launch of the first Ker 40 IRC Racer. Our team have been working diligently on developing this new breed of boat for over 12 months now and it’s just fantastic to see the first boat on the water. Witnessing her exceeding expectations in performance and quality is really very satisfying.’

Jason Ker and Simon Schofield from Ker Yacht Design visited the McConaghy factory earlier in the month, before heading to Hamble and Keronimo’s sea trials. They were very impressed with the new boat's build quality and on the water performance, where her rating came out slightly under the anticipated figures, which is very good news indeed. Both Jason and Simon commented, ‘We’re very excited by the potential of this yacht.’

The 4800kg boat has been delivered on target design weight. The second hull is leaving the factory now bound for Singapore, with the Sydney based owner of Boat #3 in the McConaghy factory today, inspecting progress on his boat. Boat #4 is in the mould presently and will be on her way to her Japanese owner soon. Boats #5 and 6 are following closely behind.

‘The orders keep coming in’, said a delighted Evans. Mark has been based full time at the 10,000m² Australian owned factory in China since it was set up over six years ago, which employs over 220 people. For the globally recognised expert in composite construction, this latest project also highlights the knowledge transfer that has occurred from the Sydney, Australia facility. Indeed, around 15 expatriates are also in China full time, working on everything from the Mach 2’s and Elliott 6m’s, to the Ker 40, MC 38 and the 148-foot power trimaran. Another item in the stable and due to start next month is the first of two MC260 catamarans that have been sold.

So if you’re excited by this news and want to jump in to the most exciting 40 footer around, go to McConaghy Boats or call +61 2 999 777 22.