The French shipyard, headed by its new president Thomas Duhen, plans to deliver the first Minis as early as December 2014. The plans were drawn up by Sam Manuard, himself a successful Mini sailor and a designer known for his fast designs, particularly for the Class 40. The Frenchman has also already designed numerous Minis for the Proto classification, those extreme companions that are subject to hardly any measurement regulations apart from length and width and can therefore be fitted with carbon fibre masts and tilt keels.
As a series boat, the SKA 650 from Archambault is a so-called "Production Class Mini". The regulations are stricter in this class. The boats must be equipped with a fixed keel, the mast height is restricted and carbon fibre is taboo as a construction material. And there are regulations regarding the volume in the cabin. The shipyard has not yet presented the technical data for the SKA 650. However, according to class regulations, the boat must be 6.50 metres long and a maximum of 3.00 metres wide. The draught (also defined) is 1.60 metres. The weight is around 950 kilograms ready to sail.
The racing series with the deep-sea dwarfs of the Mini 6.50 class is not only enjoying increasing popularity in France - the small racers are also becoming more and more common in Germany. The local Mini scene is centred in the Bay of Kiel, for example. Archambault dealer Dines Pontoppidan from Diamond Yachts in Laboe hopes to strengthen the German fleet with the new SKA 650. For the market launch, it is priced at 49,100 euros (without sails, including 19 per cent VAT). This makes the boat from Archambault slightly cheaper than the Pogo 3 from Pogo Structures which is also planned as a novelty for the Mini Tour 2015. Built and equipped in line with the class regulations, it will cost 53,335 euros.
The highlight of the ever-growing Mini series is the Mini Transat, a single-handed race from the west coast of France with a stopover on Lanzarote to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Starting in autumn 2015, the SKA 650 and the Pogo 3 from designer Guillaume Verdier will be an exciting clash between two new series boats.
Michael Good
Editor Test & Technology
