Vincent Riou's new PRB launched today. She's the second of the current generation Farr Open 60s to hit the water.

There are quite a few design differences from Delta Dore. PRB seems to be a hybrid of an evolution of the previous boat (now Roxy) and Virbac, whilst Delta Dore seems to be closer to Virbac. The main differences are in the cockpit layout, with PRB having the traveller on a raised track that runs around the cockpit, whereas Delta Dore's is mounted on the cockpit sole. The rudder arrangement is similar on both boats, though the transoms differ.



And the boat has tuna pole spreaders supporting a wing mast, whereas Delta Dore has what looks like an evolution of the Ecover rig.



I prefer the cockpit layout of PRB with the rig of Delta Dore. Unfortunately I've not got the €2.3 million it costs to build one, so it's an academic point.

Will three Open 60 launches (with the Spirit of Canada on Saturday) in a week rank as some kind of record?

OK,
This may be a foolish question, but in the launching pictures, it looks like the boat has been dropped from some height since it's making a bit of a splash when it hits the water.

I know when my boat gets launched it gets slowly lowered by a travel lift, not much splashing going on.

Do they really drop the boat in from a height? Why the big splash.

Mark

Edit: Or is that splash coming from the end of the self-righting test?

Why couldn't Farr design vo70's like that? The crews would have thanked him. And he might have beat JK.

bingo.

Buckie,

Any pics of Delta Dore, so we can compare?

BL,

This looks much better. You can tell Vincent had lots of input. Outriggers look a bit smaller than the Finot 60's. Nice.

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/forums/index...=1&t=40629&st=0
http://www.sailinganarchy.com/forums/index...showtopic=40680

Cheers
Thomas

There are more PRB photos here:

http://www.prb.fr/voile_phototheque_detail...149&album_id=30

And a lot more Delta Dore pictures here:

http://www.martin-raget.com/frameset_reportages.asp?id=373

Ryan, I agree with you that she's a better looking boat than Delta Dore.

But as the looks of it are seldom decisive... Let's see how they perform. I hope to read a first review of the three new boats in the next "Course Au Large".

Anyone here who's got access to The Daily Sail? Thinking about maybe spending some money... is their Open 60 section as good as it used to be?

Cheers
Thomas

It could just be me, but where is her transom escape hatch???

There's no real transom escape hatch, but it looks like the round hatch in front of the traveller is used an escape hatch.

An Orange mast. You'd have to be crazy, thats just begging to spend its time upside down.

Again correct me if i am wrong but it was my understanding that due to the inherent stability of an open 60 upside down (the old boats at least) there is an escape hatch required in a position in which you would not have to go in the water with boat in the inverted position to escape. IE the transom hatch. DELTA DORE has one right in the center, and I cannot find any pictures of past 60's without them. Did PBR just do a terrific job hiding it? or am I wrong?

"But as the looks of it are seldom decisive... Let's see how they perform. I hope to read a first review of the three new boats in the next "Course Au Large".

Yeah, look at Virbac.

I don't think the speed difference, if there is one, between these boats is going to be significant for the Vendee Globe. It's going to come down to skipper and prep. At this stage Vincent has to have slight edge on just about everyone for the Vendee.

The actual wording of the escape hatch rule states:

The boat shall have two exits. One exit shall be located forward of the foremost mast (except where structural features prevent its installation). The second one shall be located astern, allowing access to, and exit from, the boat, whatever its position in the water.

The cockpit floor will be above the water level in the event of a capsize, and the holes below the traveller are large enough for him to climb through.

I agree with Ryan on the relative performance of the boats. Ecover seemed to be the fastest upwind, whilst Sill and VMI Materieux (former Bonduelle) seem to be more all-round boats. Virbac is possibly the best on a reach, but she kept on breaking, so we didn't get too many chances to compare her.

I think it's proven by now that Virbac is the best reacher. Won two TJV's in a row. That says something...

there is a bit more info in SeaSailSurf
http://seasailsurf.com/

It confirms the new boats are much more powerful, Beyou's and Riou go to 5.85 width vs 5.5 for Ecover 2, while the web magazine hints that Finot/Alex Thomson might go up to 6m.

I think PRB is more attractive due to an aggressive paint scheme, while Delta Dore's is just pretty-pretty