Led by sailor and boat builder Nándor Fa, Team Fahajó will begin building its carbon composite, 60 ft (18.3 m) racing boat in April 2012 and plans to launch the boat by May 2013.
Upon completion, Fa and Team Fahajó will compete in five IMOCA World Champion Series races. The last of these is the Vendée Globe 2016-2017 – a 25 000 mile, single-handed, non-stop race around the world.
By using carbon fibre, Fa expects his finished boat to weigh 8.8 tons, which is 30% lighter than same sized boats built with traditional materials such as glass fibre.
Zoltek will be supplying the carbon fibre needed to construct the boat. The entire hull and the mast will be built with Zoltek's Panex® 35 carbon fibre.
Unidirectional fabrics will be used for the lower hull of the deck, the beams, the keels, and the rudders – this will comprise 70% of the carbon fibre used. The remaining 30% will be used in the interior structure and dividing walls, which will be constructed from unidirectional and multiaxial fabrics with vacuum infusion.
Structurally, many racing boats in the IMOCA Series today are built with a honeycomb core, which over time has caused recurring structural problems, according to Fa. For this reason, Fa plans to use a closed cell foam sandwich structure that he believes will correct this problem and facilitate a safer and more structurally stable vessel.
The assembly for the mast will take place at Pauger Carbon Composites, a maker of carbon masts. Pauger is most known for building the RC44 fleet.
IMOCA World Championship Series
Nándor Fa and Team Fahajó are planning to compete in the IMOCA World Championship Series beginning in May 2013. The race schedule is:
Transat Jacques Vabre (double-handed);
Europe Race (full crew);
Route du Rhum (double-handed);
Barcelona World Race 2014-2015 (double-handed, round the world race); and
the Vendée Globe 2016-2017 (single-handed, nonstop around the world race).
