Melbourne Osaka Yacht Race Open 40 Suitable Boat Construction

The Open 40 is an ocean racing yacht. When the Class 40 rule is applied to this downwind screamer it can make it a budget conscious ocean racer. The Melbourne Osaka Double Handed yacht race is best run with yachts that are designed for Short Handed yacht Racing from the ground up.
As these boats will be heading out into open ocean the ocean racing powers that be stipulate crash zones front and back. Within these photos of a Class 40 being built we can clearly the see the crash zones being built into the bow and stern of the yacht. My friend and I would I am sure feel quite safe double handed sailing this yacht the full 5,500 Nautical Miles of the Melbourne to Osaka Yacht race.

In some ways the open 40 will resemble the MiniTransat 6.5 yachts. Just as the Mini 6.5 she is a bit broad in the beam, able to run downwind faster than a locomotive but not that graceful working it's way back up hill. Of course with almost double the length of her little sister this Class 40 ocean racer will do me just fine upwind as well as down.