First look: Olympic 32 designed for double-handed racing

It may well be on hold for the time being but the Olympic 32 is an innovative eco-friendly concept for doublehanded racing

Author: Rupert Holmes

This short-handed one-design offshore race boat is a Finot-Conq design commissioned by the Ultimate Boat Company and aimed at the two-handed offshore class that was originally scheduled for the 2024 Olympics.

The radical scow bow hull is optimised for reaching and running, without regard to rating rules. Yet boats of this style are also now proven to be quick upwind and the polars show upwind VMG equivalent to that of a more conventional raceboat of similar size.

A huge amount of form stability enables the boat to stand up to a powerful sail plan and aft sections are shaped to promote early planing.

Light displacement of only 2,200kg puts this boat at the very high end of the performance spectrum – the Sun Fast 3300 is 3,500kg and even the Figaro 3 is 3,175kg. These factors make the Olympic 32 a boat with a performance profile that to date has only been available to Mini 6.50 and Class 40 sailors.

DANU recyclable composite is specified for the hull, deck, structural bulkheads and keel fin. As a result, it already exceeds World Sailing’s sustainable agenda that requires 90% of the weight of a boat to be recyclable by 2030.

Plans for the boat are on hold, although there’s also a proposal for a 33ft catamaran daysailer. In the meantime, the company is already producing RIBs and offshore workboats using DANU.

Olympic 32 specifications:

LOA: 9.45m 31ft 0in
Beam: 3.5m 11ft 6in
Draught: 2.5m
Displacement: 2,200kg 4,850lb
Upwind sail area: 68.6m2 738ft2
Price: TBD
Builder: ultimate-boats.com

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