What may very well prove to be the world’s fastest monohull sailboat will soon be put to the test. SpeedDream, a 27-foot carbon fiber monohull, incorporates some unusual reinterpretations of basic boat design theory. The futuristic craft is expected to launch in early September.
The design for the uber-fast monohull is a collaboration between Russian naval architect Vlad Murnikov and veteran circumnavigator Brian Hancock. Replete with a flying keel, stepped hull chines, wave piercing bow, and a sculpted hull, SpeedDream may rock the sailing world.
Murnikov and Hancock hope to start a new form of one-design racing. The course will be set similarly to a slalom ski course. With starting times staggered, the boats will run the course in tandem, thus mitigating the chance of wind shifts and eddies affecting a competitor’s performance. There will be many short, intense races over the course of the day’s event; perhaps making sailboat racing more spectator friendly.
SpeedDream is built by custom boatbuilder Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding of South Thomaston, Maine. For more information visit www.lymanmorse.com.
