35-foot replica built of speed-record chaser

The skipper of a speed-sailing monohull is promising to ‘smash all existing records’ after the yacht’s designers launched a 35-foot replica of the aspiring record-setter.

Vlad Murnikov, the lead designer and creative force behind SpeedDream, has designed the mini-version to test ideas that can be used on the full-sized version.

Mr Murnikov hopes that the boat will break monohull speed records and even match the speeds recorded by multihulls by using many of the technologies that are on the extreme foiler L’Hydroptere, the boat that holds the outright speed record.

He said: ‘For a typical evolutionary design you start with a set of known performance parameters and work to gradually improve them, but the SpeedDream concept is so radical and innovative there are no analogs to compare to and improve upon.

‘While CFD analysis and tank testing are extremely important, they can only get us so far. It will be very useful to check both the general concept and the hull shape, appendages and rig configurations on a real scaled version of SpeedDream.’

SpeedDream skipper Cam Lewis said: ‘I have followed developments in both monohull and multihulls for decades. This latest America’s Cup was a great example of how some new developments in foils radically changed the performance of both boats.

‘It’s these innovative technologies like the telescoping keel and lifting foils that will set SpeedDream apart from all other monohulls and allow the boat to not only break, but smash all existing records.

‘We will test these features, along with others in the SpeedDream-35 prototype and prove to us and the sailing community that this boat is a step ahead of anything else out there.’

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