Dial M34 to 'murder' the opposition

by Mark Rothfield on 21 Dec 2010 The much-vaunted Archambault M34 was launched for the first time yesterday at Newcastle Marina, having arrived fresh from the Archambault factory in France only last week.

It was bought off the plan by Newcastle yachtsman Barry Kelly, who has aptly named it Concealed Weapon.

From the moment it French-kissed the water, the M34 began drawing an appreciative crowd of admirers. This is a pure, sports-bred racer that looks fast standing still, like a Lamborghini Murcielago or maybe Makybe Diva.

With a hull weight of just 2600kg – including 1050kg of lead ballast – and packing 71 sq metres of sail upwind plus a massive 130 sq metre spinnaker, it won’t stand still for long.

Carbon spars with rod rigging, carbon rudder and tiller, carbon bowsprit and Harken deck gear are an integral part of the performance package. Ian Short is making the sails for Concealed Weapon and it sports the class-preferred Nexus NXR instruments.

Upon debut in France the prototype achieved 15 knots of boatspeed in 17 knots of wind, so an Aussie summer seabreeze will truly be something to behold. Test sailing begins on Wednesday and Barry Kelly is planning to contest the 2011 Audi IRC Australian Championships, starting with Audi Victoria Week in January.

For deliveries between championship venues, the 34-footer will go upwind at 100km/h … on its dedicated road trailer, that is.

Portability and 'sport-ability' were high on the wishlist when the wonder one-designer was conceived for yachting’s 'Tour De France' race, replacing the Farr 30 after 12 years on the circuit.

To get the Tour guernsey, first the M34 had to win an international design competition against 22 other submissions.

It is faster and more seaworthy than the Farr 30, with knife-like entry, powerful aft sections, minimal rocker to enhance planing and relatively high topsides.

The design brief also called for a shallow draft to enter tidal ports, so the M34 has a semi-lift tee-keel with an internal winching mechanism that reduces draft from 2.5 metres to 1.7 metres.

The use of SP System multi-axial glass-carbon, Corecell M-Foam, and epoxy resin afford maximum hull strength and lightness. Towing weight is around 3500 kilograms.

Importer Archambault Australia has the M34 priced from $269,000 on trailer, which is exceptional value for such a high quality European sportsyacht. They’re in hot demand internationally, with Archambault selling 12 boats during this month’s Paris Boat Show to take the overall number ordered to 24 in just a few months.

Call (02) 4962 5288 or see Archambault Australia’s new website www.archambault.com.au for details and location of the nearest nation-wide Archambault dealer.