http://www.sailinganarchy.com/fringe...iper%20640.htm

Striking Back!

Designed in 1996 by Kiwi sailor Brian Bennett, the
Viper 640 was voted the following year as "Boat of
the Year, Overall Winner" by a leading US sailing
magazine, with 65 boats being built by the designer
in the first two years and interest from all corners of
the US. Yet within just a few months of receiving
these accolades, the designer/builder had to return
to New Zealand and without his support, the hull
molds were sold out of the country and the class
fell into obscurity.

This could have been the final chapter, the end of a
class like so many others before and since. There
was no class racing and numerous boats for sale,
but no interested buyers. However, in the end of
2004, a small group of Viper owners and crew met
in Marblehead, MA and what started out as an
enthusiastic revival of racing Vipers locally rapidly
grew into a full-blooded renaissance in the class
nationwide, with a waiting list of people anxious to
buy boats, a new class association, a new website,
growing fleets in the northeast, southwest and
southeast, a North American Championship in 2005,
a developing regatta schedule, class-embroidered
clothing and most importantly, a new builder

Improving on (close to) perfection
Before encouraging the building of new boats, The
Viper 640 Class Association wanted to make certain
that a new boat would be as up-to-date as possible,
while ensuring that the existing boats remained
competitive. Inexpensive modifications that were
relatively simple for existing boats to implement and
that improved ease of handling were discussed,
before being either rejected or incorporated in the
build of new boats. Both cost and preventing existing
boats from becoming obsolete were at the forefront
of every decision.

There were two primary modifications upon which
the class spent a considerable amount of time: The
first was the adoption of a carbon mast (the original
mast was a heavy, double-sleeved aluminum section,
effectively two masts sleeved together) that would be
some 40lbs lighter and thus dramatically improve
ease of raising and lowering, offer greater tuning
options and give greater hull stability. Most importantly,
the supplier agreed to offer the carbon mast to existing
Viper owners, complete with spreaders and new
shrouds, for some $800 less than the cost of the
original aluminum mast; the second was to make
changes to the spinnaker shape and the spinnaker
retrieval system in order to make spinnaker douses
easier on crew and equipment alike.

The fact that many of the existing Viper owners had
already implemented a carbon mast, a skiff-style
foredeck spinnaker throat and wider spinnaker sock
- and were prepared to extol their virtues at length
- enforced the class' unanimous decision that these
modifications be officially adopted.

New Boats
After much deliberation the Class appointed Rondar
Raceboats as the class builder (www.rondarboats.com).
With over 30 years of experience, Rondar Raceboats
had an exceptional worldwide reputation for producing
quality, performance sailboats. Indeed, in the 2005
Five-Oh-Five (505) World Championships, with a
highly competitive 170 entries, not only was the winning
boat a Rondar, but 7 of the top 10 boats were from this
same builder.

Prospective US owners can now buy boats directly
from Rondar at "builders cost", which substantially
reduces the cost of a new Viper. Moreover the designer,
Brian Bennett, has agreed to waive his royalty fees on
the first 20 boats produced under the auspices of the
class, thereby reducing the price still further. Rondar
Raceboats is aiming to bring the cost of an individual
base boat down to below $20,000 and for a fleet
purchase base boat to below $18,000, including a
carbon mast. The price for a new boat is therefore less
than half that of similarly-paced sports boats, and
requires fewer crew; clearly exceptional value for money.

In addition to the existing groups of Vipers in the
southeast, the southwest and New England
(Marblehead is the primary fleet, with 15+ boats),
even before the appointment of Rondar Raceboats
as builder there were two groups of prospective Viper
owners forming to buy new boats at syndicate prices,
one in western Long Island Sound and one in eastern
Florida.

Riding the Reptile
Make no mistake about it; the Viper 640 is a fast
and exciting ride. With its generous sail plan, fine
entry, sleek hull shape, light displacement (725lbs)
and 2-3 crew on the rail, the boat slices smoothly
upwind and planes easily downwind. How fast?
When not being raced one-design this 21' dinghy
-keelboat, using the original aluminum mast, is
awarded PHRF ratings between 98 and 111,
depending on location; carbon-rigged Vipers in
Europe rate the same or faster than a Melges 24.

However, thanks to the creativity of its designer
who incorporated a huge rolled-edge cockpit and
dramatic hull flare, the boat is actually comfortable,
relatively dry, versatile and easy to sail. Indeed, a
recent new Viper owner took his first sail on the
open Pacific with 3 non-sailing adults and a 3-yr
old toddler, enjoying a pleasant family day sail. He
subsequently followed that experience by racing
single-handed in 12-14 knots, still using the
spinnaker to devastating effect on the downwind
legs, and having no difficulty in effortlessly planning
away from boats like Farr 40s, J120s and J130s
bobbing in his wake (the Viper automatically planes
"knuckle-up" - no awkward hanging-off-the-transom
"à la Melges" for this design)...until a clumsy gybe
saw him lose his footing, causing the boat to broach.
Even with no crew, all it took was the release of the
vang and the spinnaker sheet, and the Viper popped
back up onto its feet to continue its sleigh ride to the
leeward mark!

Of course the class does not necessarily advocate
such rash sailing adventures, but it does go to show
that speed, coupled with ease of handling, are the
hallmarks of this design.

While there is clearly a great deal of focus on new
boats and new fleets, the class has not forgotten
the 65 owners who originally gave this class its
chance at life. The Viper Association is desperately
seeking the remaining missing boats that were
scattered to the winds after the dissolution of the
original class in the late 90s, with the intent of
offering the owners of the original boats a chance to
bring their craft up to 2006 specification at a fraction
of retail cost, and to incorporate the original Bennett
boats and the new Rondar Raceboats boats alike
into the revamped Viper 640 Class Association.

For more information on the Viper 640 Class, to
register an existing boat with the Class Association
or to find out more about the fleet purchases, please
contact the Viper 640 Class Association President,
Justin Scott at , or visit the class website.