Join Barefoot Doctors Sailing as they step inside the Rapido factory in Vietnam for an exclusive look at the groundbreaking Rapido 53XS—where bold design meets high-performance multihull sailing.

Watch the full video below, and scroll beneath that for the full transcript.

Eli
Welcome back, adventurers!

Well, this week we take you deep inside the Rapido factory in Vietnam, where cutting-edge design meets raw, unfiltered performance. And at the heart of it all, the jaw-dropping new Rapido 53XS. The XS stands for Xtra Space, but it seems to deliver extra everything.

This sleek, high-performance trimaran somehow packs in power to fly and the room to sleep 10 in comfort. It’s bold, it’s brilliant, and amazing. And, an amazing step up in space and comfort.

New Rapido 53XS

5.38mins And you’ve now also produced a 53XS – an Xtra Space model which sounds very exciting?

Paul: Only the one at the moment, but hopefully more in the future.

It’s got a lot more space and comfort. It’s probably got accommodation approaching a catamaran, but it’s still got the advantage of a trimaran – the fact that it sails extremely well.

Narration by John

John: Unfortunately, Rapido did not have a 53XS in production in the factory when we were visiting, so we were unable to do a walkthrough of this model. But as this is a brand-new model with significantly more space and innovative design, we think it is valuable to give you guys all the details.

Xtra Space and the interior

John: Rapido has managed to create an amazing amount of extra space by widening the central living area above the waterline. This maintains the narrow hulls and does not interfere with performance.

The result is a much wider living area where you step into a spacious saloon and galley on the port side, and have enough space for a double cabin as well as a nav station or office desk on the starboard side.

The master cabin is really interesting too. Because it’s on the bridge deck, this gives the owners a really good vision of the surrounding water and how the boat is performing, with clear glass in the front of the cabin.

Stepping down into the bow of the hull, you have another double cabin with bunk beds and an ensuite. Going to the rear, you have a third double cabin with an ensuite. This layout can actually sleep 10 people.

The specifications show that the weight of the boat is not impacted by all this extra accommodation, with the light displacement still only being 8.5 tons, or 8,550 kg.

Performance

John: One of the many examples of this amazing performance was when this specific boat sailed in the ARC Europe 2025. In the first leg from St. Maarten to Bermuda – 800 nautical miles – they arrived 230 nautical miles ahead of the next boat. Just amazing stuff. Click here.

Safety

John: Rapido are also very particular about maintaining safety, with effective watertight bulkheads in the hulls that maintain buoyancy in the event of a collision.

Storage

John: The 53 also has excellent storage options. But of course, with any performance multihull, you need to watch how much weight you actually put on the boat. Otherwise, this does impact performance.

Electric

John: Another really exciting reality is that if you choose an Oceanvolt electric engine, the power output is shown here – and this is just remarkable.

Obviously, the fact that the Rapido sails so fast makes these figures much better. But the fact that you can get around 4,000 watts at 9 knots, and go up to 7,000 or 8,000 watts if you’re sailing at 15 to 20 knots of boat speed – this is incredible, and all very, very exciting stuff.

For me, it is the prospect of hydro-regeneration that is the most exciting thing about electric engines – not the actual potential of being driven by an electric motor.

Having this level of hydro-regeneration capacity is just a game-changer. But the distance you can motor on an electric engine still has to be sorted out.

Narration by Paul

[8.44mins] Paul: Welcome to the Rapido 53XS.

It’s a very fast cruising trimaran built in Vietnam. It’s all carbon fiber construction, with a carbon fiber mast and boom. It has carbon fiber everything, actually.

It has three double cabins. It actually sleeps 10 people in different places around the boat. It’s very roomy, comfortable, and fast.

The XS is different to our other boats in that it’s got a much bigger saloon area. It also has a nice cabin on the bridge deck, with a big galley.

All the controls lead back to the helm, so it’s very easy to sail in any conditions – whether it’s light winds, heavy weather, or whatever.

And this particular boat (Hull #01) sailed all the way from Vietnam to France, just for this Cannes Boat Show 2024.