| Archambault A40RC | |
| Designer: | Joubert Nivelt Design |
| Location: | France |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Builder: | Archambault Boats |
| Role: | Racer-Cruiser |
| Draft: | 8.14feet |
| Displacement: | 146610NaN0 |
| Hull Type: | monohull |
| Construction: | fibreglass |
| Loa: | 39.3feet |
| Lwl: | 34.58feet |
| Beam: | 12.3feet |
| Engine: | Nanni 290NaN0 diesel engine |
| Keel Type: | fin keel |
| Ballast: | 68340NaN0 |
| Rudder Type: | internally-mounted spade-type rudder |
| Rig Type: | Bermuda rig |
| I: | 50.88feet |
| J: | 15.42feet |
| P: | 51.77feet |
| E: | 17.55feet |
| Sailplan: | fractional rigged sloop |
| Sailarea Main: | 549square feet |
| Sailarea Headsail: | 431square feet |
| Sailarea Spin: | 1442square feet |
| Sailarea Upwind: | 980square feet |
| Sailarea Downwind: | 1991square feet |
The Archambault A40RC is a French sailboat that was designed by Joubert Nivelt Design as a racer-cruiser.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The boat was specifically designed to win IRC races.[6]
The design was built by Archambault Boats of Dangé-Saint-Romain and also by the BG Race shipyard in Saint-Malo in France between 2003 (some sources say 2005 or 2009) and 2017, but it is now out of production. Archambault, which had been founded in 1967, went out of business in 2015. The BG Race shipyard, founded in 2013, built many designs for Archambault and went out of business in 2017.[1] [2] [7] [8] [9] [10]
The A40RC is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fibreglass. The hull is made from a vacuum-infused PVC polyester fibreglass sandwich, while the deck is a PVC polyester fibreglass sandwich. It has a 9/10 fractional sloop rig, with a masthead spinnaker. The boat has aluminum spars, with carbon fibre spars a factory option. The boat has a keel-stepped mast, dyform wire standing rigging and two sets of swept spreaders. The hull has a plumb stem, an open reverse transom, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by dual wheels and a fixed fin keel. It displaces 146610NaN0 and carries 68340NaN0 of lead ballast.[1] [2]
The boat has a draft of 8.14feet with the standard keel and 7.22feet with the optional shallow draft keel.[1] [2]
The boat is fitted with a Nanni diesel engine of 290NaN0 for docking and manoeuvring. The fuel tank holds, the fresh water tank has a capacity of and the holding tank has a capacity of .[1] [2]
The design has sleeping accommodation for eight people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin with a drop leaf table and two aft cabins, each with a double berth. The galley is located on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder. The galley is L-shaped and is equipped with a two-burner stove, a icebox and a sink. A navigation station is opposite the galley, on the starboard side. The head is located just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side and includes a handheld shower. The main cabin headroom is 790NaN0, while the aft cabin headroom is 710NaN0.[1] [2]
For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker of 1442square feet. It has a hull speed of 7.88kn.[2]
In a 2009 Cruising World reviewer Herb McCormick wrote, "to get the most out of the A40RC, a crack team of top sailors was kept very busy. This is an athletic boat. Yes, in little time you could swap the racing headsail foil with a small jib furler, rig lazy jacks on the mainsail, and replace the racing inventory with sturdier canvas to go with a cruising configuration. The loads are light, and the hull is easily driven; an experienced couple could handle the boat quite easily with an autopilot. There's a reason some builders like to call their boats "cruiser/racers," while some choose to word it the other way around. The A40RC definitely puts the emphasis on racer."[10]
In a 2012 review, Toby Heppell reported on the sailing characteristics for Yachts & Yachting, writing, "the boat was simply a pleasure to sail, but not especially easy to get on and drive 100 per cent all the time. It's a 40-footer which will reward reasonably accomplished helms and good crews, which is not to say it is a hard boat to sail. It feels every centimetre a sweet modern racer-cruiser and, joy-of-joys, with everything set up perfectly for the racecourse it was a delight."[6]