"Magic Carpet e": Verdier design sets new standards in the 100-foot class

After three Wallys with the name "Magic Carpet" and twelve years on the last one, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones took delivery of his new 100-footer from Persico. It again has an addition in power notation in the name, but this time it is an "e" instead of a consecutive number. And that can certainly be seen as exponential, a huge step forwards. With maxi yacht number four from the fleet of "flying carpets", the ex-CEO of L'Oreal made the biggest leap, and not just visually.

First impression Imoca, but somehow not

Six years ago, Owen-Jones thought about a faster and much more sophisticated sailing base. He retained the requirement of being able to live on the ship for a week or two. This time, however, he turned to Guillaume Verdier. The Brit's brief: "The fastest 100-foot yacht imaginable to sail up and down off Porto Cervo and around the islands at 10 to 12 knots, and with a reasonable rating! I was surprised by Guillaume's enthusiastic reaction."

For "Magic Carpet e" ("MCe"), the Frenchman - he and his team designed the Imoca of Vendée Globe winner Charlie Dalin - worked with the same XY parameters as its predecessor: 30.48 metres in length and 7.20 metres in width. However, at 37 tonnes, the 100-footer built by Persico in Italy displaces a whole ten tonnes less than the previous full carbon construction of the same volume. The mast is centred on the deck. The keel swings out up to 45 degrees to windward. The hull is traversed by chines on three levels. And the deck - now with cork instead of teak - makes a leap upwards amidships and drops dramatically both fore and aft. It is easy to be tempted to see a domesticated Imoca in "Magic Carpet e". Verdier's colleague Hervé Penfornis waves it away. The rig and underwater hull are massively different, as the hull remains in the water and has also been optimised for light winds.

Verdier's tilting keel with two-axis folding mechanism

The biggest difference to the predecessor "Magic Carpet ³" (pronounced: Cubed) below the waterline is the canting keel, which the box rule of the Wallycento class prohibited. Verdier also prescribed almost four (!) metres long, dagger-like twin rudders, with the windward one always being raised hydraulically to reduce resistance. The keel construction with its triple folding mechanism is probably unique, whereby the parking position of the keel, which is "Black Maggy" resembles. According to the principle: lower the draught without going wider. The keel fin can also be tilted aft by 60 degrees. So far, so familiar. The difference is that a hydraulic cylinder is also located in the keel bulb so that the lead spindle folds forwards by around 45 degrees in the longitudinal direction and the entire unit manufactured by Cariboni nestles closer to the underwater hull. This reduces the draught from 7.10 (!) metres to 4.60 metres. A measure to be able to dock in the home harbour of Saint-Tropez again.

A combination of lift and canting keel had already been realised, but was not an option for Guillaume Verdier: "We wanted to avoid a vertically recoverable keel fin, as this would have meant a heavy structure with a high centre of gravity." However, the canting keel required a canard, a profiled centreboard amidships that rotates a few degrees around the longitudinal axis and - something that did not yet exist on Maxis - also swings to the side like the keel behind it for more buoyancy. The mast is positioned almost in the centre of the deck between the canard and keel. Verdier says of the tilting keel with lateral deflection: "Like most boats of this type, we have large headsails and several forestays. This configuration works particularly well with a tilting keel and canard."

Hydraulics relies on hybrid system

The constant movement of the keel and sails required a powerful and reliable hydraulic system. This is where the "e" in the yacht's name comes into play, which first and foremost stands for Electric. The pumps are not powered by diesel generators, but rely entirely on two high-voltage electric motors and a battery bank. Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones drove the development forward with his long-time captain Danny Gallichan and project manager Ed Bell. "Basically, it's a plug-in hybrid that can be fully charged in around five hours using a handy 20-kilowatt charger with harbour power," says Bell. The lithium-ion batteries, which weigh a total of 500 kilograms and have a total capacity of 107 kWh, were supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering, the official battery supplier of Formula E. Owen-Jones is known as an enthusiastic racing driver, and Bell drew his attention to the next generation of small high-performance electric motors.

During the passage from La Spezia in Italy to Saint-Tropez, they sailed for 16 hours with many manoeuvres and arrived in the Vieux Port with a battery level of 28 percent. Nevertheless, a so-called range extender is on board, in the case of "MCe" a lightweight that charges the batteries with its 150 kilowatts under full load in 40 minutes or supplies the electric motor of the extendable drive unit almost directly in "Safe to Port" mode. Despite the batteries, the overall system weighs the same as the combustion engine. Bell and Gallichan could even imagine the diesel engine being removed from the vehicle in the next few years. The prerequisites for a minimally invasive expansion have been created as a precaution.

Full programme for "Magic Carpet e"

In addition to appearances in Mediterranean classics such as Giraglia, Maxi Cup and the home race at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, small Mediterranean rounds and day trips are on the agenda as usual. The interior was designed by Persico according to the ideas of Axel de Beaufort, who has realised a wide variety of sailing boats with Verdier, most recently the XXL catamaran "Artexplorer". Only two tonnes were used for the interior fittings. The lightweight construction maxim dictated ceilings made of mesh fabric and furniture, which were created at similar expense to the hull with Nomex core.

The furling sails, which were previously used for cruising, are now also fully deployed in race mode. This has reduced the crew size from 28 to around 22 people. The manoeuvres are nevertheless demanding and energy-sapping, as YACHT was able to experience during test sailing on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. On the beam reach, the boat was travelling at 20 knots (with a 650 kg anchor, as the crew emphasised) at around 18 knots TWS. It always felt like we were on rails. The Verdier construction literally ironed the sea away, instead of dipping into it, it briefly dipped into the wave trough and acknowledged this with some spray, which fanned out the spray rail. A detailed presentation of the exceptional 100-footer will follow.