The Zero. What is the scoop ??? By LeoVoorneveld  The Zero is back again after silence from the yard.
It was awkward, the deafening sound of silence...But there is news.
The Zero website is online again. And there have to be three more boats sold
to gain Production Class status. So a few boats have been sold lately.
Quoting the Corsa yard:
"ZERO is back again, after some problems with the owner of the project, there is an agreement now".
Apparently the old owner started a court case between him and Corsa, and as a result all production stopped. Now Corsa is 100% owner of the Zero moulds, and can produce again. They now have a few months to prove themselves. There must be a rudder redesign (see bottom page)
and some small problems with the pole set-up and then the baby is ready. It only needs 3 more boats to be sold, and then qualifying time and miles...
(I have a feeling that hey are really putting in an effort to be a Production design as soon as possible and to ensure the future of the Zero. The contact with the yard is much better now then it ever was- LeoV)
The designer;
Lombard is still very supportive of this boat.
He is sitting in frustration of course, seeing the boat's progress obscured by a mountain of silence. For an understanding of the Zero we have to look to the design that was the model for the Zero. The 240 designed by Lombard was a very good  looking boat, (the pet
boat for a lot of Mini lovers). It held the ???unofficial??? 24hr record of 240Miles !!!!
Lemonchois built it, but the mast came down in the 1999 Transat (as is the fashion on minis). The next Transat 650 (2001) it was sailed by 'outsider' Simon Curwen who came second in it. A very good result. We all expected him to do well, but not that well! I witnessed the boat sailing on the first leg and was impressed by its sea kindness/speed characteristics. While other boats where
behaving like aloof dinosaurs it just sliced through butter upwind.
(Since then (2001) I am partial and totally biased for this design. But I am also with other boats, Rogers, Manuard, Magnen, almost all designs have strong points, hey I know I am mad about mini's- LeoV)
Then in 2003 it came third in outsider's hands again, Alex Pella did a great job... and  second in the same race was Richard Merigeaux in the sister ship (260) So the pedigree of the design is good. And the sailing experiences on the Zero are good too, at least, that is what I have heard. Never sailed a Zero to be honest... One is in France, La Rochelle, one on Palma de Mallorca and the rest on mainland Spain.
The sailor of a Lombard design;
So for some experience I asked Simon Curwen about his opionion, he sailed the PROTO Lombard designed 240, but it is the closest design to the ZERO:
S.Curwen, boatname: QDS
Race: Mini Transat 2001, result second place overall.
"If you would like to add a comment from me on the Lombard Proto, I would say that the great strengths of the Lombard design are the rounded performance on all points
of sailing (very necessary on a course that has proved to have long sections upwind, downwind and reaching) ... I think the French use the word Polyvalent. The other main strength is the balance of the boat under all conditions (when correct sail combinations are used). This means that it is always a pleasure to helm even at the end of a 4000 mile race, and that the autopilot can sail the boat easily at close to optimum performance. It is this balance
that allows it to slice through the water upwind as you observed, rather than rolling around like a drunken dinosaur!!"
The Rudder system;
This has to be improved and the work is going on, apparently there was a problem ;)
The lifting function is still there, and even the autopilot can be placed underdecks. THe difference 1-they are closer to the hull (2-3 mmm gap) 2- the boxes are stronger and ligther (10 mm massive laminate, unis+biax+roving) 3- the blades are made from new moulds, thinner and stiffer 4- connecting bar thicker and continues between both blades. (the photo is from a mockup, not a real boat ;)
That is it, it is good to see that the Zero is alive again, good for the guys that already
bought them, good for the diversity of the fleet and good for the racing.
A Production Class where the famous designers, Finot, Lombard, Rolland, NIvelt and Magnen are battling is a dream come true, I wish Farr designed one :) And Rogers, and....... Long live the Protos, but the Production Class is alive too.... |
