6 race-ready new yachts: Performance designs built for speed
Got a need for speed? The last year has delivered an explosive fleet of new performance yachts designed for one thing: getting there first.
Got a need for speed? The last year has delivered an explosive fleet of new performance yachts designed for one thing: getting there first.
Designers are leveraging every ounce of technology, from prepreg carbon fiber construction to optimised IRC/ORC configurations, resulting in some of the most dynamic and competitive yachts we’ve seen in years.
Whether you’re looking for a double-handed weapon or a grand-prix dominating maxi, the options are faster and sharper than ever before.
We dive into the cutting edge: Discover the Neo 620 Roma, a carbon-fiber mini-maxi built for fast cruising with the weight of a pure racer, and its lighter, competition-focused cousin, the 460 Competizione.
See how the radical Wallyrocket 71 stepped onto the global stage and instantly redefined the Maxi 72 class by taking the Rolex IMA Grand Prix World Championship.
Plus, check out the new wave of sportsboats, from the featherlight, trailable Melges 19 to the pure one-design thrill of the KiSS 25.
These yachts aren’t just built to sail—they’re built to win.
Neo 620 Roma (& 460 Competizione)
This rocketship is the second Carkeek design for Italian carbon cognoscenti Neo Yachts.
The Neo 620 is its new flagship, which will muscle into the competitive mini-maxi arena.
It’s an evolution of the 570 we featured a couple of years ago (check out the video tour), and continues to sport Carkeek’s distinctive chamfered topsides, which run into a reverse sheerline, a stealth bomber-style shape first seen on racing machines such as Ràn.
The 620 has various layout options, primarily adding a third heads compartment compared to its smaller sister, and providing the option for a convertible fourth cabin space, which can be used as a nav station, for dining or sleeping – all while keeping weight to a mere 13.5 tonnes (nearly half of which is ballast in a deep keel).
Neo manages this wizardry by building the 620 in prepreg carbon fibre, fitted with a high-modulus carbon rig.
Cariboni hydraulics aid high-speed control, while it can sport a single or twin rudders, has space for a 3m tender, and includes 400lt tanks for both fuel and water.
Founded by competitive sailor and sailmaker Paolo Semeraro, Neo has now built 30 custom or semi-custom high-performance yachts since 2018.
The ‘Roma’ branding is Neo’s fast cruising line, which reflects the possibility for the wood veneered interior to be removable.
So these yachts suit those wanting to compete at high-level events with the lightest-weight boat, yet do so while protecting the timber finish and maintaining resale value.
460 Competizione (Race)
Where Roma signifies a cruiser racer or Gran Turismo theme, ‘Competizione’ is Neo’s pure racer line, and the Bari yard has just sold the first 460 in this guise to a German team.
Designed by Ceccarelli as an offshore double-handed or crewed racer, which can compete in Group 1 of the Admiral’s Cup class, it is available with single or dual rudders, water ballast options and an electric retractable pod.
It also displaces only 200kg more than the 430, so weights in at just 6.2 tonnes, yet adds a second compartment inside.
Semeraro reasons: “There are no production competitive racing boats in the 45-46ft range, the only competitive boats racing are a bunch of very old Ker 46s.”
With this 460 he explains that the moulds and hull mould of the 460 Roma.
“A new owner can enter a no-compromise racing program without having to support the full costs of a prototype,” thinks Semeraro.
And with the next Admiral’s Cup already planned for 2027, teams will already be needing to get their new steeds in place.
“Our target was to produce an all-round boat, not too light, not too specific for reaching in strong wind etc, but a boat that can win and can be used in many configurations, including inshore, offshore and double-handed.”
Both versions of the 460 are in build, plus a 520 Roma – all due for launch next year.
Neo 620 Roma (& 460 Competizione) specifications
LOA: 18.59m 61ft 0in
Beam: 5.30m 17ft 5in
Draught: 4.50m 14ft 9in
Displacement: 13,500kg 29,762lb
Price – 620 Roma: €2.1m ex VAT
Price – 460 Competizione: €750,000 ex VAT
Contact: neoyachts.com
KiSS 25
Here’s one for the thrill-seekers.
We’ve seen a real appetite for smaller, high-performance racing yachts of late, with sailors moving from the 50s and Fast 40s to the likes of the Cape 31.
Now comes a new Danish brand with this contemporary one-design sportsboat designed to light up in international racing circuits.
KiSS (Keep it Simple Sailor) Yachting promises to bring a new level of speed and precision, using vacuum-infused carbon-built craft.
It’s partnered with Neo Yachts (opposite), which specialises in carbon craft.
So despite the 2.5m beam, the 25 weighs a featherlight 750kg!
Couple that with a square-top main and a 66m2 gennaker (or a Code 0) and it’s easy to imagine that skimming dish-flat shape flying downwind.
Features include a removable rudder to ease trailering and a retrieval system for the A-sail – set off a 1.8m retractable bowsprit.
The 25 is designed for three to five crew, and unrestricted hiking is encouraged.
KiSS promises race-ready craft, including CNC-machined appendages, Cyclops smart sensors, Pauger carbon rigging, and Harken deck gear as standard.
With guardrails added, it also meets ORC and IRC requirements.
KiSS 25 specifications
LOA (inc bowsprit): 9.43m 30ft 11in
Hull length: 7.63m 25ft 0in
Beam: 2.50m 8ft 2in
Draught: 1.8m 5ft 11in
Displacement: 750kg 1,653lb
Sail area (upwind): 35.5m2 382ft2
Sail area (downwind): 101.9m2 1,096ft2
Price: €119,450 ex sails, ex VAT
Contact: kiss-yachting.com
Wallyrocket 71
Wally launches a second rocket. If the name and look seem familiar, it’s because we ran plenty of coverage of the first Wallyrocket 51 earlier this year, following its eagerly awaited launch and build-up to the Admiral’s Cup and Rolex Fastnet Race.
Yet just as we began featuring the first rocket, Wally announced this larger sistership, with both yachts launching in the same season.
Both are Botin Partners designs, and where the 51 is conceived to take on the TP52s and smash races on handicap, the 71 has the equally herculean task of becoming the ‘world’s most successful maxi’.
Compared with its main Maxi 72 rivals then (most of which have been extended), the Wallyrocket 71 is two tonnes lighter, with over 30% more water ballast (2.7 tonnes of it) for the same sail area, which brings advantages both in the light and going downwind.
It can clock upwind speeds of 10.5-11 knots, while matching or exceeding true winds going the other way.
“We started from a blank sheet of paper, asking how we could beat the most competitive Maxi 72s on corrected time,” Botin’s Adolfo Carrau explains.
“When they were designed, it was to a box rule, so many parameters were already set.
Now, as everyone is **optimising** their boats under IRC rules, there is a lot more freedom.”
Giovanni Lombardi Stronati commissioned the build of the first 71, Django 7X, at King Marine in Valencia.
It is already being campaigned by his Italian Django team, which represented the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) at the Admiral’s Cup with the first 51.
Once again, this team is galvanised by the affable Vasco Vascotto, who holds more world titles than any other sailor.
Django 7X’s first major regatta was the Rolex Maxi Yacht Cup in September, hosted by the team’s club YCCS, where it took on the likes of seasoned competitors such as Bella Mente, Vesper, Jolt and Jethou – and beat them all, to claim the first Rolex IMA Grand Prix World Championship.
Quite the proof of concept!
Wallyrocket 71 specifications
LOA: 21.44m 70ft 4in
Beam: 5.55m 18ft 3in
Draught: 4.90m 16ft 1in
Displacement: 12,500kg 27,558lb
Sail area (upwind): 305m2 3,283ft2
Sail area (downwind): 630m2 6,781ft2
Contact: wally.com
First 36SE
Having gone big on the new First 30 last month, we’ll keep this preview concise.
The First 36, which launched three years ago, has received the Seascape Edition turbo charge treatment and is now available as an SE model.
This transforms the Sam Manuard design into what Beneteau calls ‘the ultimate planing racer’, with reduced weight (400kg less than the standard model) for more sail power.
Carbon is used in the structure, hull tweaks have shaved off 3m2 of wetted surface, and wheels are replaced with a tiller.
It’s also **optimised** for ORC racing with input from ORC guru Maurizio Cossutti and Pure Design helping Manuard and the experienced Seascape team tweak the model.
Actions speak louder than words, and in July a customised 36SE finished the Transpac in 2nd place overall, finishing behind the 88ft Lucky, and nine hours ahead of its nearest competitor – despite being the smallest yacht in the fleet and the only one sailed double-handed.
Also, a freshly-launched first production version of the 36SE recently finished on the podium of the 4th ORC Double-Handed World Championship.
First 36SE specifications
LOA: 11.98m 39ft 4in
Beam: 3.80m 12ft 6in
Draught: 1.95m 6ft 5in
Displacement: 4,400kg 2,359lb
Price: €295,370 ex VAT
Contact: beneteau.com
Melges 19
The YW office is hoping we see one of these in European waters soon – after a look at the first images and videos we’re itching for a sail.
The Reichel Pugh design should plane in as little as 10 knots and is designed to suit and reward all levels of sailors.
The third-generation family-run Wisconsin yard has an international reputation for its sportsboat racing classes and says this should bring that renowned level of fast, fun sailing together with class support.
A spacious cockpit suits a combined crew weight of 220-243kg for racing, and the simple kick-up rudder and daggerboard design suits beach and trailer sailing.
“The Melges 19 is built for speed, simplicity, and sailing with family and friends,” says multiple Melges world champion, Harry Melges III.
Melges 19 specifications
LOA: 5.79m 19ft 0in
Beam: 1.98m 6ft 5in
Draught: 1.37m 4ft 6in
Displacement: 179kg 395lb
Price: US$34,500 inc sails, ex tax
Contact: melges.com
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