Crosscall unveils its Class40

As we announced last June, two-time freeride ski world champion and skipper Aurélien Ducroz will be lining up at the start of the Route du Rhum 2022 aboard a Class40 in CROSSCALL livery. It's an audacious project that he wanted to bring to fruition by building his own boat. Just as he designed his own skis or built his own chalets in Chamonix, Aurélien wants to be able to shape this boat in his own image and to meet his own high standards. To accompany him, he called on the Lombard architectural firm and CROSSCALL technology, which he wants to place at the heart of the boat's design.

CLASS40 CROSSCALL #RIDETHEOCEAN

INNOVATIVE STYLING, OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE

For her design, he called on the Lombard architecture firm, which has the best expertise in the design of high-performance, reliable class40s, and whose Lift V1 won the Route du Rhum in 2018. A choice in keeping with the skipper's ambitions.

While the primary objective is to build a boat to win the Route du Rhum, Aurélien also wants to favor French manufacturing and bio-sourced materials such as linen, without compromising on performance.

Aurélien Ducroz's future boat will be truly different from other class40s: it is the first boat in the category to exploit the limits of the new Class40 2020 class rule. More optimized and more accomplished, it intends to shake up the codes of its category in terms of both aesthetics and performance.

We're building a boat for maximum performance. We've gone into great detail to optimize every part, resulting in an extremely accomplished boat with innovative lines that will clearly enable us to challenge the latest Class40 boats.

A CUTAWAY DESIGN FOR GREATER LIGHTNESS

The hull of the future Class40 CROSSCALL will follow the evolution of the latest racing yachts, with a very large volume at the front of the boat, in line with the "scow" trend. But the 8 engineers and naval architects at Lombard have taken full advantage of the new rule by spending countless hours on numerical flow simulation (CFD).

The hull's power, hydrodynamic drag and attitude (longitudinal trim) in the sea were the 3 main areas of development and optimization. These studies have resulted in an original hull, which will deliver substantial speed gains with very healthy boat behavior at all points of sail, especially downwind in heavy seas. The water entry and exit angles have been worked out to minimize drag and enhance the boat's lift and speed.

We gave priority to environmentally-friendly materials and a short supply chain, with the entire boat produced in France. This was essential for me and for my partners, who all share these values. Of course, performance is our top priority. "Committed but not perfect", as my partner Greenweez puts it!

A HIGHLY OPTIMIZED FRONT END

The overall aesthetics of the shape are thus new: the upper part of the bow is inverted, and is associated with a marked fringing at the front of the boat (deck narrower than the hull, within the limits of the measurement). The maint line plunges forward, removing surface area above the bilge and making the boat lighter. The whole front of the boat is therefore very different from what we see on current Class40s.

A COCKPIT AND CAP OPTIMIZED FOR SOLO SAILING

Aurélien Ducroz wanted an ergonomic cockpit designed for solo sailing, with all controls within easy reach. Above all, he wanted the cockpit to be as far back in the boat as possible, to center the weight on the stern and protect it from the elements. Lombard worked on a roof with an elongated shape, to accommodate the skipper's ambitions while maintaining the minimum volume allowed. As for the cap, it benefits from an innovative shape: the protections have been worked in the form of protruding facets, reminiscent of the design of CROSSCALL smartphones. As well as giving the boat a racy style, the skipper is protected from the waves and more comfortable to perform throughout the race. He'll enjoy a protected space but with a wide field of vision to steer in the best conditions.

CROSSCALL TECHNOLOGY AT THE HEART OF DESIGN

CROSSCALL and Aurélien Ducroz have decided to put the brand's technology at the heart of the design of the future CROSSCALL class40. The French manufacturer's smartphones and tablet, CORE-T4, will be integrated as navigation aids on board the boat. The skipper will also use smartphones to film and share his adventures, and create immersive content combining sport and thrills, as he did during the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2019. Ultra-resistant and waterproof, smartphones and tablets from CROSSCALL smartphones and tablets will demonstrate their performance in the most hostile environments, and their reliability in the face of the many unforeseen challenges that come with ocean racing, as Aurélien Ducroz does.

As in everyday life, telephone use on a boat is becoming increasingly widespread. For example, using the simple principle of a remote screen, the skipper can consult all the information provided by the on-board instruments in real time. Telephones CROSSCALL telephones can also be used to alert the coast in the event of damage, and to support the installation of numerous navigation aid applications.

CROSSCALL also realized that some of its accessories, originally designed for other sports such as X-ARMBAND or X-BIKE, could even be "hijacked" from their primary function, and ultimately prove very useful on a boat. The X-BIKE, for example, is used by the helmsman. Attached to the rail, it offers considerable convenience, providing all the information needed for navigation at a glance. Placed on the forearm, the X-ARMBAND is the ideal accessory for sailors who need to move around the boat. With a simple glance, you can consult the information provided by the on-board instruments and take swift action.