Watch the Racer sailing

The Racer at the Royal Langkawi International Regatta, January 2026. Video: Langkawi Channel.

Faster, safely, and still liveable

A racer has to be faster than the boat it comes from, and the Racer is. But safety was never part of the trade. It was a fixed condition of the brief, and the speed is built around it. Within that, weight had to come down, controls had to become easier for short-handed sailors, and systems had to remain accessible. The crew still needed the basics of living aboard.

At about 4.5 tonnes light displacement, the Racer is around 700kg lighter than the 5,200kg Rapido 40 Cruiser, about 13 per cent, and more against a Cruiser with extra equipment. Its 19.5m carbon rig is 2m taller than the standard Rapido 40 rig. The hull and float shapes are the same. The Racer has asymmetric C-foils as standard rather than as an option, a T-foil rudder, no helm seats, companionway cover or saloon table, and a painted finish in place of gelcoat.

It also has a lower coachroof without the Cruiser’s large windows. That could have cost interior space, so the saloon floor was lowered to match. Standing headroom is kept: 1.96m in the saloon and 1.9m in the forward cabin.

The Racer’s saloon: settee berth, galley with sink, portable cooler, and the central engine box, which lifts for access.

A racer has to be faster than the boat it comes from, and the Racer is. But safety was never part of the trade. It was a fixed condition of the brief, and the speed is built around it. Weight had to come down, controls had to become easier for short-handed sailors, and the crew still needed the basics of living aboard.

At about 4.5 tonnes light displacement, the Racer is around 700kg (13 per cent) lighter than the 5,200kg Rapido 40 Cruiser. It has a 19.5m carbon rig, asymmetric C-foils and a T-foil rudder, and a lower coachroof without the Cruiser’s large windows. The saloon floor was lowered to match, so standing headroom is kept: 1.96m in the saloon and 1.9m in the forward cabin.

Performance and rating

In Multihulls World’s test, the Racer reached 6.5 to 7 knots in 10 knots of true wind at 50 degrees. The test was in light air, around 9 to 11 knots, so the testers did not sail the Racer further off the wind under its asymmetric spinnaker, or in a stronger breeze.

The Racer’s MOCRA (Multihull Offshore Cruising and Racing Association) rating is 1.435, against 1.294 for the Rapido 40 Cruiser with standard rig. MOCRA is a time correction factor used to handicap multihulls so they can race on corrected time, and a higher rating reflects a faster-rated boat.

In an independent sea trial, Multihulls World recorded 6.5 to 7 knots in 10 knots of true wind at 50 degrees. That was light air.

How it is built

The Racer is built in Vietnam by Triac Composites, Rapido’s own composite facility. The hull and floats are infused foam/carbon sandwich, and the highly loaded components, including the beams, foils and rudder blade, are autoclave-cured prepreg carbon. The finish is paint rather than gelcoat.

The weight reduction is not a series of isolated cuts. A change to one part of a boat affects another, and the Racer was worked through with that in mind. The aim was to anticipate those knock-on effects and keep the qualities that still matter offshore.

In the video above, from 12:50, Barefoot Doctors Sailing invite Rapido co-founder Paul Koch to highlight some of the key features of the Rapido 40 Racer, including its prepreg carbon mast and C-foils. For the transcript, click here.

On board

Below, the Racer is deliberately spartan. There is a large double berth forward and a very wide double aft under the cockpit, with just under 70cm of headroom. The galley has a large sink and induction cooktop, the heads have an electric toilet and shower, and there is no saloon table. The systems are visible and easy to reach, and the portable cooler and watermaker can be removed for racing. It is enough for a few days’ cruising and for ocean passages, but this is a racing boat first.

Safety

The Rapido 40 Racer is designed to CE Category A requirements – the highest recreational craft design category – for conditions where winds may exceed Beaufort Force 8 and significant wave heights may exceed 4 metres, excluding abnormal conditions. It is intended for serious offshore sailing as well as coastal and club racing.

Every bulkhead is either watertight or has no penetrations below the waterline, and each float has four separate watertight compartments.

Folding floats

The folding system reduces overall beam from approximately 8.8m while sailing to 5.8m when folded. For a performance trimaran of this width, that makes marina berthing, hardstand handling and transport considerably more practical than with a fixed-beam configuration. The floats can be folded while afloat, and the trimaran’s stability is maintained during folding and in the folded position.

Independent View

Multihulls World sailed the Racer off La Grande-Motte, France (Issue 210, November/December 2026) and described what lies behind the racing specification as “a true liveable multihull”.

They were equally direct about the trade-offs such as the “spartan comfort" and a low aft berth.

• Read the full independent review at Multihulls World (Multihulls World charges a fee for access – or contact Rapido Trimarans)
• Read Rapido’s complementary post to the Multihulls World’s article
• Compare with the Rapido 40 Cruiser

Talk to us about the Racer

A page can only tell you so much. If the Racer sounds like your kind of boat, get in touch and tell us how you would use it. We’ll send you the detailed specification, options and price and talk through current build slots. You are also welcome to see how it is built at Triac Composites in Vietnam.

Click on the button below – or email us direct at [email protected]