Hollom Design
“SPEED IS OUR BUSINESS”
We specialise in designing competition sailing boats to tight Restricted or Formula rules and to date we have not been without significant success. Our slogan is “Speed is our business” which hopefully sums up our design philosophy.
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All the latest news right here first.
Congratulations to Peter Morton (Morty), Andrew Palfrey (Dog) and Ruairidhi Scott on starting the season with a bang and winning the Alpen Cup for a fourth time with a race to spare.
Congratulations to Glen Truswell and Ed Fitzgerald on winning this years Easter Tray to make a great start to the new season.
Congratulations to Urs Infanger for coming 2nd (1st before disgards) in the inaugural Easter Egg International Regatta in Belgium.
Great start to the season with 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th in the Australian International 14 Nationals. Mark Krstic and James Lanati came first followed by David Hayter and Trent Neighbour in second, with Roger Blasse and Andrew Gilligan finishing 3rd. Congratulations to all.
PROJECTS.
Below are listed the classes to which we have designed together with significant results. This includes classes where we have design proposals but boats have yet to be built.
5.5 Metre
“The Jean Genie”
In 2019 we were approached by Peter Morton aka Morty to design a 5.5 Metre capable of winning the Worlds. This was a big project involving, among others, Orca Consulting, looking after the structure, 123 Naval Architecture, providing CFD analysis and Tom Schnackenberg overseeing all analysis.
Our design brief was to design a boat that would excel in wind speeds of 8 to 18kts and not worry too much about light air performance as the upcoming Worlds were all in potentially windy locations.
The boat, on it’s first outing, won the Alpen Cup at Garda in 2022 and then went on to win the Scandinavian Gold Cup and the following Worlds in Hanko. In 2023 she won the first two races of the Alpen Cup and then had to retire the series with a broken rudder. She then went on to win the Gold cup in Porto Cervo winning, I believe, every race and then, in the World Cup she won the first two races. From then on, however, the wind went very light and with a very lumpy left over lop she dropped down to 7th.
Although never designed as a light air flyer we believe that this area of her performance can be improved and we are working on a number of ideas to facilitate this. However, in winds of 10kts and more she is almost invincible. Her advantage is such that at the finish the crew cannot, more often than not, read the sail numbers on the second placed boat.
Besides the current “Jean Genie” design, for which a mould exists, we have a number of other designs that are ready to go but which would obviously, because of the lack of a mould, cost more to put on the water.
International 14
“Departure”
We designed our first I14 in 2007. It was, however, 2010 before an owner was found. This design has proved extremely fast and in the last ten years has won 7 out of 9 (one year was lost to covid) Prince of Wales Cup’s (POW’s) the classes one long race (26 miles) that decides the British National Championship. The design actually won eight POW’s on the water but was disqualified in one year for taking the wrong course, as was half the fleet. Katie Nurton, the only woman to win the POW, also won in a Mk2 of this design.
It has also won the POW week eight times and, in at least one year, that included winning every race. The design has also won at least the last five Australian Nationals in a row.
It has also won two Worlds and three Europeans.
Last year Glen Truswell and Ed Fitzgerald came second in that years worlds.The boat also took 5 out of the top ten places. Not as good as winning but a good substitute.
6 Metre
“Shadow VI”
“Shadow VI” evolved from a Blue Arrow America’s Cup Syndicate design which, in it’s original form, was not very successful. Our owner purchased the second bare hull taken off the same buck and approached us to see if the performance could be dramatically improved. We took the project on and designed significant changes to the hull the keel and the deck layout. This involved cutting away the underbody, from amidships along and below the waterline to the rudderpost, a bow bustle to accommodate the volume lost at the stern, a smart bulb, a new fin and a raised cockpit for the crew.
We also redesigned the sail plan raising the gooseneck well above the deck and drooping the boom end onto the deck at the counter. This not only allows the crew to work better, the sail area lost can be re-positioned to an area that is not constantly backwinded by the Genoa and is thus more efficient. Also, as the photographs show, it allows a bigger roach.
The boat was good enough to win the British National championships in her first season and also to win both races of the Household Cavalry Cup and the Southern Six Series.
Unfortunately her owner, Sir Michael Cobham, became terminally ill shortly after winning the Nationals and the boat was laid up and has, since his death, due to various misfortunes, not been raced.
Although successful much more could have been achieved with a clean sheet of paper (a screen refresh in this day and age) and we have various designs, complete and ready to be built, that will be faster.
MORE PROJECTS.
12 Metre
“Crusader 2”
“Crusader 2” was designed for the 86/87 America’s Cup in Fremantle. She was not chosen to represent Great Britain even though in trials she proved faster, possibly because the Skipper, Harold Cudmore, preferred a more conservative boat, which would showcase better his sailing skills. Because of this early choice of boat she was not developed in Fremantle and went to the following Worlds in Lulea totally undeveloped and sailed against boats that had two to three years of development. Nevertheless, she still managed fourth place and won the prestigious “Midnight Sun Cup”.
In private trials in Copenhagen against her stable mate “Crusader 1”sailed by an Olympic Gold Medallist she dominated, only losing one race when she went to the wrong leeward mark.
Denis Conner remarked that the only boat in Fremantle that he feared, was “Crusader 2”
A full explanation of the design philosophy of all our Metre boats is contained in a paper entitled “Towards a Faster Six” Which is appended.
We have a current design almost ready for construction.
8 Metre
We have proposals and almost completed designs that follow our Metre boat design philosophy outlined in the appended document “Towards a Faster Six” and are just awaiting an interested owner.
2.4 Metre
“This boat was initially designed for Megan Pascoe, a past World Champion in the class and was first raced in anger in late 2023 in the Antwerp Cup where she came third. This class is very often raced on inland waters where wind speeds are generally lower and this is reflected in the design. As it happened the wind speed in Antwerp was high for the entire regatta so, with it not being our weather, we were very pleased with the result. A measurement trim giving more ballast and less sail area has been developed for higher wind speeds and is, at the moment, in construction.
The design philosophy is the same as that of all our Metre boats but unfortunately the 2.4 rule does not allow bulb keels so that the full advantage of that design philosophy cannot be achieved. We have, however, found other ways of circumventing this difference.
A mould is in existence for this boat in both its light and heavy air modes and we are currently on boat three. We would, of course, be willing to design an exclusive boat if an owner so desired.
A good start to this season in 2.4's as Urs Infanger has just come second after discards (first before discrads) in the inaugural Easter Egg International Regatta. This was the boats first outing.
MORE PROJECTS.
National 12
Our National Twelve dinghy was designed in 2007, and was completed in 2009. Sailed by a Corinthian owner she has won the Burton Cup (the classes one race National Championship), and has won the week on two occasions. In the Burton Cup’s that she did not win she invariably came second and when she won individual races, which was often, it was sometimes by as much as a leg of the course..
She won last years Burton Cup by over a leg of the course sailed by Ollie Meadowcroft the youngest ever skipper to win the Burton Cup in 45 years, the last being Graham Bailey, Ollie and his crew, Helen Hilditch, should also have won the week and the national championship but for a broken rudder fitting in the last race which they were leading at the time.
International Foiling Moth
We designed an International foiling Moth in partnership with Mike Lennon. In Garda foiling week it won all six races it started but, due to a breakage, it missed one days racing (three races) and could only drop two of those DNC’s. However, even carrying one big score, it still came second. It also came second by one point in the British Nationals, & won the North American winter nationals.
However, developments are fast and furious in this class and you have to have a builder who can rapidly produce upgrades. Our builder took two years to produce our latest foils which are still probably ahead of the competition but still very late, losing us much of our advantage. We have a new design which incorporates many advanced features and which promises to be a big step forward. We are actively looking for a builder.
OK Dinghy
Although a One Design there are tolerances at each measurement point. By pulling the shape around, within the tolerances, to be nearer our ideal shape, it is possible to measurably improve the performance of a One Design boat. We carried out this operation for Synergy Marine in 2019 and since then a boa t to this design has won, in Garda, what should have been the World Championship of the class but for covid, and came third in the last Worlds at Lyme Regis. It has just come third and fourth in the current World champs in Brisbane. And filled five of the top ten places
Photo courtesy Robert Deaves
MORE PROJECTS.
Europe Dinghy
Another One Design where we have played with the tolerances for Synergy Marine. The boat has only just been released so it is too early to judge just how quick it is, compared to other boats in the class, but we are hopeful that we have moved the game forward.
The prototype was sailed last year by Tom Morris to win the classes British National Championship on its first competitive outing.
Star
Again, by pulling the tolerances around we designed a Star for an owner who, although a Corinthian sailor holding down a tough job in the City of London, wanted to go for a place in the British Olympic squad going to Seoul in 1988. The boat was good enough for him to place second in the selection trials so, bearing in mind that his was not a full on 24/7 program, it was right on the pace.
TP52
“We currently have a newly designed keel under construction. A new advanced bulb has also been designed which will hopefully be fitted later in the season. We also have a complete TP52 design current and just about ready to go.
After having the new keel fitted Morty went on to win the Round the Island race and the Gold Roman Bowl.
Radio Controlled Yachts
We have, over a very long period, designed and campaigned Radio Yachts which have won many large events including a win in the RA Class Worlds, a win in the Radio Ten Rater Europeans, two wins in the RM class Nationals, two wins in the RM Champions Cup, several wins in the Vane A Yachting Monthly Cup, many wins in the Vane A Nationals and many wins in the Vane 36 National Championships.
We have two One Metre designs, “Dead Reckoning” and “Celestial Fix”, currently being produced in glass reinforced plastic by Winder Boats and finished By Dave Potter Solutions, that are proving very fast and, in the right hands, quite capable of winning World or Continental Championships. A third One Metre “Ticket to Ride” is in the process of being put into production by Damian Ackroyd using 3D printing to produce the hulls. We are sure that this boat will be equally as fast.
Additionally, Damian is producing an RG65, a Radio Six Metre and a Radio “A” class boat, all in carbon reinforced plastic.
An RM is in the pipeline as well as a Radio Ten Rater.
For advice on sailing, building and rigging radio yachts visit:
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