Team Arkema Lalou Multi looks forward to a busy winter

by Marie-Astrid Parendeau on 9 Dec 2016 A successful and innovative 2016 season for Team Arkema Lalou Multi is coming to an end with both the Multi50 Arkema and the Mini 6.50 Arkema 3 starting their refit. This winter promises to be busy for Lalou Roucayrol’s team, who will make the most of the opening-up of the Multi50 class measurements to fit new parts on their trimaran, the famous foils. Meanwhile, the optimization of the Mini 6.50 efficiently conducted by Quentin Vlamynck has highlighted a number of lines of work for the winter so that this incredible prototype may be readied for its first crossing of the Atlantic in the fall of next year.

An innovation drive for Multi50

After two transatlantic crossings on floats - The Transat bakerly and the Québec St Malo brilliantly won by Arkema -, Lalou Roucayrol’s trimaran needed some time away from the water! “The trimaran was moved to the Verdon-sur-Mer yard around two weeks ago” explains Fabienne Roucayrol, the team’s manager. “We will carry out the traditional checks on the rigging, electronics, fittings, sails… But our major task won’t start until January when we fit the foils and a full set of three new rudders. The boat has already amply showed us what it’s capable of, but we’re not resting on our laurels!”

As genuine pioneers in the installation of these fittings on the Mini 6.50, and consistent with the innovation mindset underpinning this project, Arkema and Lalou Roucayrol are delighted to be able to adapt this development to the trimaran. “Generally speaking, foils on multihulls boast two notable assets: stability and speed. These curved foils ensure better air/water interaction. What’s more, we’ll be able to move the incidence of the foil (the rake), and so trim the boat even more, lift its nose up, and so prevent the bow from crashing into the waves. From 14 knots up, speed can be boosted by around 3 knots in the same conditions” explains Lalou. “In the case of our Multi50 Arkema, this additional speed will also come from absorbing shocks when sailing upwind and the boat slams heavily into the waves.”

With the boat fitted with monotype foils, in other words identical within the Multi50 fleet, the challenge for the team as well as naval architect Romaric Neyhousser will be above all to define the best positioning of these foils on the trimaran. “We will need to adapt our boat, work out the optimum location of the foils and where bracings will be needed. Our objective is to refloat the trimaran by end of March, early April” concludes Fabienne.

A training program will then be drawn up for Lalou Roucayrol and his crew as they look forward to the Transat Jacques Vabre 2017 double-handed race to South America.

Optimizing the Mini 6.50

A genuine concentrate of innovation, the Arkema 3 prototype launched halfway through the year has not gone unnoticed. Fitted with foils, a wing mast and a telescopic bowsprit, this prototype is waiting to be tamed. “I have covered over 2,000 nautical miles since last June” explains Quentin Vlamynck, skipper of Arkema 3. “This phase of optimizing the boat and getting a feel for it away from racing was necessary because it’s an absolutely incredible machine. We managed to make it fly and on several occasions I was able to hold it at over 20 knots. My record so far is 23 knots, sailing downwind under Code 5 and GV 2ris… I am very confident in its potential, but there’s still room for improvement.”

Although there is no issue with any major component, it is on the detail that the Arkema Lalou Multi team is going to be working. “The goal is to optimize the boat as much as possible for the departure of the Mini Transat race next October. In particular we will improve the ergonomics of the boat, with a genuine pilot house, to help the skipper’s performance. Moreover, the boat is highly demanding and sailing can be very rough, so we will be providing Quentin with suitable equipment such as helmet and kneepads.”

The young skipper is very busy in the boatyard, continuing to glean more and more experience from Lalou, who never tires of praising him. “As a skipper, Quentin is fully engaged, smart, hard-working and keen to learn. When he’s not on the water, he’s in the yard learning, developing and improving. This is a highly technical boat which requires the skipper to also be a developer and a performer. This coming winter we will also process the data we gained during our races. We will refloat the boat end of February as we have our sights set on taking part together in the Lorient BSM race in early April. This is entirely in line with the project we initiated 3 years ago to pass on and share our know-how” concludes Lalou.