"Narrower, sharper in the bow area and equipped with a much smaller main cabin, perhaps a quarter of what we had before." This is how Boris Herrmann describes the new hull of the "Malizia 4", which is still under construction and which Team Malizia presented in detail for the first time in episode two of the documentary series "Born to Race" on the evening of 25 February and which YACHT online already shown here had. Regarding the shrunken space below deck compared to "Malizia - Seaexplorer", Herrmann said: "I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It also makes it quite exciting."
The new one for Boris Herrmann: less freeboard, narrower hull
Designer Antoine Koch says of his Imoca design for three racing teams - Thomas Ruyant Racing, Team Malizia and Banque Populaire: "The main difference between 'Malizia 3' and 'Malizia 4' is to gain versatility. In particular, the boat will have a slightly lower waterline. It will have less freeboard and a slightly stronger emphasis on aerodynamics."
Boris Herrmann explains: "There are basically two things we can influence if we want to build a fast boat. We can give it more horsepower. Or we can give it a lower displacement. This time we're trying to do both."
The overarching concept for "Malizia 4" is that "we tried to design a multi-purpose boat for smooth water and medium winds," says mastermind Antoine Koch, who was responsible for such successful boats as "Paprec Arkéa" and Thomas Ruyant's predecessor in the Imoca scene. Antoine Koch has been working with Thomas Ruyant since 2019.
An all-rounder for Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia
Antoine Koch continued: "We also wanted to bring concavity into some areas of the hull to try to have a very narrow hull, but one that is a bit more powerful when the boat comes out of the water." Boris Herrmann was thrilled when he first saw the new hull, saying: "I love standing in front of this hull and imagining the water flowing along these lines. It's a bit like an internal CFD model."
The six-time circumnavigator was also able to visualise how the new hull will generate lift in the future. In an interview for the documentary, designer Koch described the work in the ergonomics area, whereby the team paid a lot of attention to the interfaces between man and machine on board. A "good position for the helmsman" and "good access for the trimmers to the winches" with a simultaneous view of the sails were of great importance.
Antoine Koch described reliability and safety as the biggest challenge and at the same time the most important priority when building an Imoca, which was the number one decisive design criterion. Koch also pointed out the increasingly important role of simulators in the development of Imocas. "This means we really have a digital model of the boat," said the Frenchman.
"Malizia 4": explored virtually, now being expanded in reality
So, how Charles Caudrelier moved around the "mockup" model of the new Gitana during the design process with 3DL glasses and was able to provide better inputBoris Herrmann, Will Harris and Team Malizia also utilised virtual reality during development. "Particularly with regard to ergonomics," says Antoine Koch, "we used VR tools and were able to use the goggles to move around the boat and explore the ergonomics to find out whether they corresponded with the crew's expectations."
Will Harris talks about this phase and says: "The first thing that struck me when I went 'on board' in this kind of mockup was how much smaller everything is, how more compressed." Boris Herrmann explained while looking at the hull, which has now become real: "When you look at 3D models and then experience reality, there is always a big difference. We have 3D glasses and are standing in front of a virtual boat. But it's still something completely different to see the real boat."
The new documentary episode also reports on who is behind the construction of "Malizia 4", which is due to be launched in Lorient at the end of June. A six-month design process preceded the construction phase at CDK Technologies in France. The entire development process took a total of 15 months, during which the design work continued in parallel.
Less is more for the new Imoca rocket
In this "Born to Race" episode entitled "Performance in Motion", Technical Director Pifou Dargnies, Composite Department Manager Clément Caumont, Boat Captain Henry Mc Cann and Technical Advisor Jesse Naimark-Rowse also explain many details about the new Malizia-Imoca, with which Boris Herrmann is aiming for a victory in The Ocean Race 2027 and a successful third Vendée Globe participation in 2028/2029.
What drives the construction team is clear. "Everything about the boat is a race for weight. We want to make everything simple and light. And then it's also a race for space. There's not that much of it, even though it's a 60-foot boat," says Jesse Naimark-Rowse. In the meantime, the hull has long been under construction.
Boris Herrmann uses the object to show where things will be located in the future, where the main winch and other equipment will be positioned. In a cheerful scene, the 44-year-old also shows the future ceiling height of his cockpit and holds his flat hand in front of his forehead. Here, too, compromises have been made. There is no longer a basic standing height as there was below deck on the very comfortable forerunner.
The advantages of the compact cockpit
Herrmann explains: "It won't be high enough for me to stand fully upright in the centre of the cockpit." However, there are positions on the sides "where I can stand perfectly and have a good overview and view".
I think the smaller cockpit is safer." Jesse Naimark-Rowse
Naimark-Rowse points out that there was more room to "fly around" in knockdowns or other dangerous situations on the previous "Malizia - Seaexplorer", while the new boat offers "less open space". "So if you go flying, it's maybe only a metre or a metre and a half before a pillar of grass or something else comes along, whereas on 'Malizia 3' it went straight from one side to the other when that happened. That was potentially more dangerous."
The first major realisation of Team Malizia's hull presentation is obvious: the idea of performance has displaced some of the previous comfort. The upcoming episodes of "Born to Race", which will be broadcast once a month until the launch, will show this from other perspectives.
As its creators describe it - the new hull for "Malizia 4" is the subject of the second episode of the series "Born to Race":
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
