The class followed the Volvo 70s during their around-the-world race series, appearing at finishing ports to put on a show of blinding boat speed and draw attention to the slower monohull event.
Design and Competition Role
The Extreme 40 measures 40 feet overall, with a 23-foot beam and a displacement of just 2,750 pounds. Each slender hull has an individual length-to-beam ratio of 13.6, marking this as a boat built for speed rather than accommodation.
The Extreme 40 series served as a warm-up circuit, helping skippers and crews more accustomed to fast monohulls adjust to the demands of racing a super-fast big cat. This new generation of mid-sized catamaran was intended to bridge the gap between traditional multihull racing and the wing-sailed developments later seen in the AC45.
Its plumb stems aren't the wave-piercing type used on those AC45 cats. Instead, the Extreme 40 relies on very narrow hulls and a low displacement-length ratio to reach its performance envelope. That ratio is calculated at 19.18 without crew and 25.46 with crew weight.
Construction and Transport
The hulls and structural members are carbon fiber with Nomex Aramid honeycomb cores. The assembled components are rolled into an autoclave, where a vacuum is drawn and the pieces are heated to 120 degrees Celsius.
The process produces boats that are very strong but not very durable, a trade-off typical of autoclave-cured racing structures. According to the original assessment, the structure is not durable for sustained use. The lightweight construction also makes the catamaran easy to transport—an asset for a class designed to appear at venues around the world.
Rig and Performance
Rather than the large wing sail used on the AC45, the Extreme 40 carries conventional “soft” sails. Its fractional sloop rig provides 1,076 square feet of sail area.
The rig set the record for the highest sail-area-to-displacement ratio ever calculated by the reviewer: 72.62 with the main, jib, and crew weight, rising to 129.25 when the gennaker is included.
Top speed is somewhere between 35 and 40 knots in 25 knots of breeze, and the boat is expected to fly one hull in as little as 6 knots of wind. Four sailors crew the boat, joined by one non-participant, further underscoring its pure racing purpose.
Accommodations
There’s no cruising accommodation. The Extreme 40’s narrow hulls and 2,750-pound displacement exist solely to support its sail plan and crew, leaving no livable interior to discuss. Its identity is defined entirely by its regatta role.
The Verdict
The Extreme 40 is a focused racing instrument: a lightweight, autoclave-cured carbon catamaran with a record-setting sail plan and hull forms tuned for raw speed. Its strict one-design format and easy transportability made it a practical spearhead for multihull sport racing, although the construction that gives the boat its strength also sacrifices long-term durability.
Pros
- Slender hulls and an ultra-low displacement-length ratio provide exceptional acceleration and top-end speed
- Conventional soft-sail rig has a record sail-area-to-displacement ratio and is simpler than wing-sail alternatives
- Strict one-design format and easy transportability suit a traveling regatta circuit
Cons
- Autoclave-cured carbon-Nomex structure is strong but not durable for sustained use
- No accommodation or cruising provision whatsoever
- Plumb, non-wave-piercing bows differ from later wave-piercing catamaran designs
