Boat Review of Rapido 40 by Zuzana Prochazka, Sail Magazine, 4 May 2023. the Rapido 40 has since been nominated for Sail magazine’s Top 10 Best Boats.

Below is a video as well as some excerpts from the original article.

Light, quick, and comfortable, the latest trimaran from Rapido brings cruising up to speed.

The new Rapido 40 trimaran is designed by Morrelli & Melvin… so no surprise that performance is in (the Rapido 40’s) DNA. But it’s also a cruising multihull that’s light, strong, easy to sail, and designed to fit into a standard slip, with retractable amas…

At just under 12,000 pounds, it’s half the weight of a 40-foot catamaran, but with an equivalent sailplan that helps her slip along at wind speed even in light breezes.

The Rapido 40 has a carbon V-boom, aramid cap shrouds, and a carbon, two-piece, tapered, wing mast with no spreaders. Twin asymmetric, prepreg, dagger C-foils on the outer amas remove the need for a heavy centerboard or keel, and the lifting rudder T-foil is excellent for both shallow and deep waters. With a reacher or gennaker, expect 20-plus-knot boat speeds in 15-20 knots of wind.

Trimarans are known for their performance, not their livability, but Rapido designs are built for distance cruising in comfort. The raised salon, galley, and nav station are all on the same level, and surrounding windows bring in plenty of light so there’s no feeling of being “buried in the hull”…

To save weight, countertops and drawers are made of carbon, and the cabin sole is cork. Extra storage is available in the amas, which offer a space roughly 3-by-9-by-3, or 81 cubic feet of room…

The Rapido 40 is designed for podium finishes, but with its emphasis on livability, cruising couples interested in fast passage making are taking notice. Benefits include wide nets on both sides to relax or carry the tender, the folding amas to make grabbing a standard slip doable, and an ICW-friendly 63-foot air draft. Reportedly, 17 have sold already and are being shipped all over the world as deck cargo with the amas folded and the mast down…

Read the original article

• The original and unabridged article can be found by clicking here.

• Rapido – Changing the Game – Morrelli & Melvin lean on cutting edge technology for modern yacht design, Zuzana Prochazka, Multihull Sailor, Winter 2021
  Cutting-edge Technology for Multihull Design. (Or click here for the same article which was republished in Sail Magazine on 23 March 2022.)