Thomson’s new HUGO BOSS Open 60 hits the water

by Annabel Merrison on 19 Jul 2007
Solo sailor Alex Thomson has had his first sail this week on his brand new state-of-the-art Open 60. Faster and more powerful than her predecessor, the innovative new HUGO BOSS looks like no other on the Open 60 circuit.

She was designed by Finot-Conq over an 18-month period to be a top competitor in the Barcelona World Race 2007 and the Vendée Globe 2008. Project managed by Jason Carrington and built by Neville Hutton in the UK, she is guaranteed to turn heads when she competes in Cowes Week and the Fastnet Race this Summer.

Construction began on Thomson’s new generation Open 60 in October 2006 at Hutton’s Boatyard in Lymington. She was built from a female mould and is the result of extensive research, including a comprehensive campaign of tank testing, CFD and routing simulation, followed by 26,000 hours of building.

Despite being notably lighter, the new HUGO BOSS is significantly wider and therefore more powerful than her predecessor. She has been engineered by a team from SP Technologies led by Paolo Manganelli, using Kevlar honeycomb and Corecell core materials with Gurit custom optimized pre-preg carbon. The concept of HUGO BOSS is ‘powerful, simple and light’.

A key feature of the yacht’s deck configuration is the twin coach roofs giving a unique stylish appearance. The two steering wheels sit behind the coach roofs and the satellite dome is located on the foredeck in front of the mast. This deck layout offers greater protection for the helmsman and excellent visibility while driving.

The new HUGO BOSS is equipped with an innovative carbon canting keel, which was built by Multiplast in France and is instrumental to her performance. Technically, an innovative and complex element, it was manufactured in collaboration with an aeronautical sub-contractor in order to ensure a high degree of precision.

The mast is from Southern Spars and is a development of the mast on Thomson’s previous Open 60. However, the British sailor has chosen Future Fibres to supply the standing rigging as it is a tried and tested product with less risk attached. For the sails Thomson and his team have selected North Sails New Zealand. Sail Designer Gautier Sergent has been involved with the project from inception and has been instrumental in developing the right sail plan for Thomson’s sailing style.

'I feel very fortunate to have secured a world class team to design and build the new HUGO BOSS,' says Thomson. 'Jason, Neville and the team have done a superb job on the build and the Finot-Conq design team is one of unrivalled pedigree with in excess of 30,000 boats to its name, including four out of five winning Vendée Globe boats. Capey [Andrew Cape], my co-skipper for the Barcelona World Race, has been down at the boatyard everyday consulting on the project and assisting with every step of the decision making. It’s fantastic to finally get out on the water and see what this new racing machine is capable of.'

Thomson was forced to abandon his previous HUGO BOSS Open 60 when she suffered keel failure in the Southern Ocean in November 2006. However his retirement from the VELUX 5 Oceans has enabled him to be involved throughout the decision process of the new boat build, ensuring that she is totally custom built to his style of sailing.

Boat specification

Architect: Finot-Conq

LWL: 18.28 m
LOA: 20.1 m
Beam: 5.5m
Draft: 4.5 m
Displacement: 8000kg
Height of mast: 27m
Sail area upwind: 300 m²
Sail area downwind: 550 m²