RAPIDO TRIMARANS STATEMENT, La Vagabonde III
22 August 2024

The following statement addresses the dagger board case issues raised in a video by You Tubers, Sailing La Vagabonde, which was posted on You Tube on 17 August 2024. (Note: at the time that the video was posted, all issues raised in the video had already been resolved and SLV had already commenced sailing to Japan.)

CRACK FACTS

• CRACKS WERE LARGELY COSMETIC, NOT STRUCTURAL.
• CRACKS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MAST SUPPORT. AT NO TIME WAS THE MAST IN ANY DANGER OF FALLING.
• RESULT WITH THE DAGGER BOARD CASE? ACCORDING TO RILEY FROM TWO DAYS AGO: “LOOKS TO BE PERFECT, MATE…”

WEIGHT OF RAPIDO 60s

• Independent official OMR weights for Rapido 60 Hulls Nos. 01 and 02 were approximately 10,000 kg.
• La Vagabonde III, due to extensive and unique customization work by Elayna and Riley is over 2,000 kg heavier than Hulls Nos. 01 and 02 according to Riley (NB: La Vagabonde III to our knowledge was not weighed in accordance with OMR procedures).

DAGGER BOARD CASE ISSUES

Team Rapido admires Elayna and Riley for the way they have made SLV such a success story, and we celebrate success stories! We love how they are encouraging all of us to try cruising in faraway places, outside our comfort zones.

We sincerely regret and apologize whole heartedly for the extra stress that these cracks in the dagger board case and the back of the board have caused Elayna and Riley.

The cracks in the dagger board case looked awful and they should not have happened. The back of dagger board crack was not deep and in fact was very minor.

Like all brands of boats, if it is a warranty issue, an owner is obliged to go direct to the builder and have them deal with it. Calling in third parties who do not know the specific design, construction and lamination details can be counterproductive and cause undue stress to an owner however well-intentioned the third parties may be.

From the outset there was communication with the US design and engineering team at Morrelli & Melvin, who have designed each of the Rapidos (Morrelli & Melvin are extremely well regarded on the global stage for designing carbon, performance multihulls. They are even engaged in Americas’ Cup campaigns. SLV’s dagger board case issues are well within their level of expertise and experience). Initially, the focus was on identifying the cause of the issue and secondly, to then develop a robust solution.

During the investigation, it was quickly reconfirmed that, at no stage, was the integrity of the mast base or the mast itself an issue.

So what went wrong internally during the build of the dagger board case?

As part of their custom build, SLV selected a new, wider coach roof design which required the original dagger board case to be modified. Part of the modifications required additional layers of carbon and, regrettably, this was not adequately done. Clearly our fault and we have rectified it. We are constantly improving our Quality Control systems in the factory because in every organization, particularly one involved with high tech, complex builds and custom requirements, QC is a constant.

Why did the resin fail to go off? Sourcing the right resin and right hardeners in Philippines was a challenge and we were unable to airfreight these items from our factory as airlines deem resins to be hazardous materials. The hardener was slow reacting the first time and the work had to be redone with a different ratio. We then sourced a new fast hardener which enabled the resin to cure at the faster rate.

Two days ago, we contacted SLV seeking an update on the warranty work. They replied that they were 250 miles from Okinawa (Japan) and that the dagger board case “Looks to be perfect mate but will have a proper look when we arrive (in Japan).”

WEIGHT of LA VAGABONDE III

The design, engineering and construction of the Rapido range of trimarans ensures that the standard boats are some of the fastest, safest, ocean cruisers afloat – all with weight carefully managed within the bounds of CE A certification.

La Vagabonde III is heavier than R60s Hulls Nos. 01 and 02, as was expected.

The first two boats were independently weighed with certified calibrated scales and in accordance with OMR (“Offshore Multihull Rule” is used for boats competing in the Ocean points series. This rule requires measurement and weighing of the boat and the issuing of a formal rating certificate). OMR weighing is under strict scrutineering and, basically, the boat is weighed with its sails but without fuel, water, consumables and such things as pots and pans, utensils etc.

These two Rapido 60s each weigh about 10,000 kgs.

Riley reports that La Vagabonde III is about 12,500 kgs. (It is our understanding that it was not weighed in accordance with OMR).

WHY the difference between these two R60s and La Vagabonde III?

As mentioned above, SLV selected the new wider coach roof. While it also has beautiful large glass windows that give a panoramic view, it also comes with a weight penalty compared with the standard roof.

The real weight additions, however, come from SLV heavily customizing the boat during the build (which has very much made La Vagabonde III quite spectacular and unique).

Apart from special features such as copper sinks, copper faucets and special wall lamps and wall paper, there is also a custom bow sprit; heavy duty bow thruster with 48 V motor and controls; 60m of stainless steel 10mm chain; a heavy galvanized anchor; Oceanvolt all-electric sail drive in addition to a completely separate Yanmar diesel engine; 6 MG batteries at 55kg each plus control boxes, a lot of extra heavy duty wiring and composite boxes to house the batteries (the standard R60 has 2 X lithium ion batteries); two start batteries; two Jefa autopilots plus wiring, alterations to the forward head and extra bulkhead reinforcing to accommodate such, among other items.

Notwithstanding the additional weight, the performance of La Vagabonde III remains amazing, which is a core feature of the Rapido pedigree.

We look forward to watching many more videos from SLV with their beautiful cinematography and of course, the two fearless boys showing us all that cruising the World is so enlightening. We also wish them a continued safe voyage for the remainder of their sail to Japan. (We do note that the recent social media commentary has highlighted SLV’s trip to Japan which has prompted some professional sailors to express concern / caution  about the timing given that it is typhoon season.)

N.B. While our standard R60 has a carbon helm seat/ leaning post and carbon hard top bimini for the protection of the crew, SLV insisted that these items NOT be made for their vessel. Some commentary on social media has stated that this was a decision made by Rapido but this is not correct. We believe that the absence of a helm seat/ leaning post is a safety issue and accordingly, we had SLV sign a liability waiver.