Rapido 40: The Alternative Trimaran, by François-Xavier de Crécy with photos by Ludovic Fruchaud, LE MONDE DU MULTICOQUE #24 by Voile Magazine. July, 2024.

Below is an edited extract (translated) of the original article.

• To read the full and unabridged article (in French), click here. Please note that a fee of 6.99Euros is required to access the article.

Rapido 40: THE ALTERNATIVE TRIMARAN!

This dashing Vietnamese-built Rapido stands out for its load-bearing appendages and attractive panoramic deckhouse.

It’s not every day you sail a cruising multihull at over 20 knots… And the notion of cruising is not overused here: with its panoramic deckhouse, meticulous fittings and comfortable equipment, the Rapido 40 is not a speedboat that’s just habitable for a sporty trip, but a boat for living, just like the range (Rapido 60, 50) of which it is the baby.

A LONG, GENEROUSLY GLAZED DECKHOUSE

For the moment, it’s the Rapido 40, a surprise guest at the La Grande Motte show, that has our attention.

Seductive from the pontoon, it immediately strikes the visitor with its long, generously glazed but well-proportioned deckhouse, whose comfort inside is immediately apparent. In fact, between the raised saloon to port and the galley along the starboard side, you can live aboard without ever losing sight of the horizon: a rare luxury thought to be reserved for cruising catamarans…

But it’s at sea that it really stands out from the competition. Once the mainsail and the gennaker are set, you can feel the potential of this dashing trimaran from the first drop. Acceleration is rapid up to a plateau at around 13 knots. There, a gust of tramuntana gives the boat the extra power that allows the curved daggerboards to give it new momentum. You can clearly feel this “LIFT” which releases the trimaran from a good part of its drag and sends it close to 20 knots with apparent ease…

The rudder tiller remains light and precise while the speed remains between 17 and 20 knots in the ripples and the revivals. At this devilish pace, the bay of AIGUES-MORTES is quickly covered. ..

UP TO SEVEN SLEEPS ON BOARD

…Another sleeping berth along the port side will be perfect for a standby sailor. And if we add the convertible saloon bench that makes 4 beds, including three doubles. Not bad!

• To read the full and unabridged article (in French), click here. Please note that a fee of 6.99Euros is required to access the article.