Please select your home edition
Edition
Sydney Boat Show 2025 - Apply to Exhibit

McConaghy Ker 40 jumping onto the World’s stage

by John Curnow on 28 May 2011
Crew thoroughly enjoying the ride. - McConaghy Ker 40 McConaghy Boats
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.

Excess CatamaransRCSR 2026 bottomV-DRY-X

Related Articles

2025 Transat Café L'OR is packed with surprises
73 boats sailed by 146 co-skippers will set sail on October 26th 73 boats sailed by 146 co-skippers will set sail on October 26th on the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandy.
Posted today at 7:20 am
The Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue is back at sea
Peter Burling joining the team for the Rolex Fastnet Race After a refit that began in March, the Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue was relaunched this Thursday, July 3. Lined up for the months ahead is an exciting race programme, culminating this year with the Transat Café L'Or in October.
Posted today at 5:14 am
Transpac's Middle fleet sets off for Diamond Head
Seventeen boats begin the 2,225-mile Pacific Crossing in light air conditions Seventeen boats begin the 2,225-mile Pacific Crossing in light air conditions in Transpac's second start.
Posted today at 2:39 am
GKSS Match Cup Sweden & Nordea Women's Trophy D4
High stakes for semi-finalists as the final four teams in each division are locked in The third day of racing at GKSS Match Cup Sweden saw the completion of the quarter-final match-ups in both the Open and Women's class, locking in the final four teams in each division for Friday's semi-finals.
Posted on 3 Jul
2025 29er Europeans at Lake Garda Day 1
Five teams tied at the top Ikke Huber / Liam Berger (Switzerland) lead the charge after sweeping all 3 races in the Green fleet — an impressive perfect score of 2 points. Lucas & Moritz Hamm, the dynamic twin duo from Germany, matched their Swiss rivals with consistency and pace.
Posted on 3 Jul
Onboard reporters in the Course des Caps
Enjoying the challenge of bringing the race to life In the Course des Caps - Boulogne sur Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, the Onboard Reporters, or OBRs, are back doing a wonderful job of bringing IMOCA racing to life with pictures, videos, interviews and reports from the boats.
Posted on 3 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais Day 2
Consistent American Magic Quantum Racing move clear ahead American Magic Quantum Racing stepped three points clear at the top of the 2025 Rolex TP52 World Championship leaderboard today in Cascais, Portugal on the strength of a first and third from two breezy races.
Posted on 3 Jul
Unforgettable Transatlantic Race 2025 finish
First to arrive was Ocean Fifty Calamity, co-skippered by Timo Tavio and Kimo Nordström. It was rush hour in Cowes on Day 15 of the west-to-east Transatlantic Race 2025, as boats crossed the finish line in Cowes within minutes of each other after an epic 3,000-mile battle for top honors in IRC 1.
Posted on 3 Jul
iQFOiL World Championships set to open in Aarhus
Olympic medalists and world-class riders gather in Denmark for the biggest iQFOiL event of the year. The stage is set in Aarhus for a spectacular week of high-speed sailing as the iQFOiL World Championships 2025 kick off on 4 July, bringing together over 200 of the world's best windsurfers from more than 40 nations.
Posted on 3 Jul
The Ocean Race Europe to showcase new race tracker
Developed with PredictWind to revolutionise race coverage The Ocean Race, often described as the toughest test of a team in sport and widely recognised as a leader in impactful ocean health initiatives, and PredictWind, a global leader in marine weather forecasting, are collaborating on a new race tracker.
Posted on 3 Jul