Roger McMillan tests S40 one-design in Argentina

I'm just back from testing the new Soto 40 one design which will be imported into Australia in a few months time - and I really, really want one!

The full boat test will appear in the April/May issue of Australian Sailing, to be published in the last week of March, but I thought I'd give you some basic information in case you are in the market for a fast boat of this size.

She has been designed and built in Argentina and to date five boats have been launched, including two which went to Brazil. One of the owners there enlisted Volvo Ocean Race winner, Torben Grael, as tactician and Torben liked the boat so much that he's ordered one for himself. That's a pretty good endorsenment in anyone's language. A further seven boats are currently on order.

The boat test was conducted in 14-15 knots of wind and the speed was impressive. We were doing around 8.5 knots to windward and over 12 knots downwind. The owners tell me they have done over 18 knots and expect to hit low 20s in the right conditions.

Apart from the raw speed, what I really liked is the size of the cockpit. It's huge. I race a lot on boats of this size range and we're always falling over each other. On the S40 the crew all had plenty of room to do their jobs. There is no coachroof and only a flush hatch on the foredeck, which makes the bowman's life easy, and all halyards and sail trim strings run through conduit below deck, so it's a very uncluttered layout. It's also very deep, which keeps the centre of gravity low.

The boat has been designed along similar one-design principles as the Farr 40 - only seven sails allowed, crew weight of 770kg, production carefully controlled to ensure all boats weigh the same.

She's not designed to rate under IRC or ORCi (although her sheer speed might make her competitive anyway) but would be a great club PHRF racer until critical mass is reached and a fleet of 10 or more are sailing under one-design rules like the Farr 40s or Sydney 38s. Price is $388,000 in the water in Australia, not including sails and electronics, so say $440,000 ready to race.

For more information, email info@longitudeyachts.com or go to http://www.longitudeyachts.com

- Roger McMillan