Still no Christmas present for your loved one? Then this high-tech toy might be just the thing. The new model from the Stockmaritime mini shipyard is now available to order. It is the official Volvo Ocean Race model.
After three months of development, the team presents a miniature racer that has some special features to offer. The Mini-VO 65 is particularly seaworthy. This means it is very dense, but also corrosion-resistant. Above all, however, it can also withstand breaking waves, as the videos of tests on the North Sea off St. Peter-Ording prove.
The furling gennaker is a novelty for a yacht model on the market. It is permanently attached to a fixed carbon fibre forestay and can be unfurled and furled by remote control. In addition to the normal controls, usually sheet pull plus rudder deflection, there are two more. This requires some rethinking and practice at first, but adds another component to model boat sailing. The small racer rewards this with a clearly visible increase in speed, as a short test sail on the Alster in Hamburg showed.
"We are quite proud of this, because as far as we know, we are the only ones in the world to offer this in a series model," says company owner Hans Genthe. The model boat enthusiast from Hamburg has already brought many of his own developments onto the market, from the Volvo 70 with tilt keel to the America's Cup catamaran.
The acid test on the North Sea
The Volvo Ocean 65 model is based on the original Farr design, but has been given more volume at the front and larger sails, as is usual for model boats. The hull is made of carbon fibre with epoxy in vacuum, which promises lightweight construction and durability. All ball-bearing blocks are made of stainless steel. The sheets and stays are made of Dyneema or Kevlar.
The little racer is a lot of fun, but the price is not. "There's no other way when you produce in Germany," says Genthe. It currently takes around 40 hours to build a model. The basic version with jib and mainsail costs 1,700 euros, with gennaker equipment it is 2,200 euros. It is slightly cheaper without the Volvo Ocean Race design or completely naked.
