While his brother is fighting for a top position in the VOR, Graham Dalton has just launched his new Open 60 design for the Around Alone Race
Graham Dalton’s new open 60, designed specifically for the Around Alone Race, has been launched and HSBC is the named sponsor.
Dalton, who’s the brother of Volvo skipper, Grant Dalton, commissioned the UK-based design office, the Owen Clark Design Group, to design the boat last July giving them just five weeks to come up with a drawing before building commenced.
With many of the ideas from Kingfisher, one of the company’s previous successful designs, incorporated in the new Open 60 project, there is no doubt that this boat has a successful career ahead of her.
Unlike Kingfisher she has an articulating bowsprit, single daggerboard, twin wheels and a VO60-style trench cockpit. She also sports a relatively small coachroof which is a result of a serious weight-saving agenda.
While this new boat has been designed principally for the Around Alone Race, it’s one that could easily been seen on the VOR circuit should the race move away from the Volvo 60 rule.