Wally Rocket 51 - One Design Sailing Yacht

The WallyRocket51 has a length of 15.5 meters (LOA) and is just below the TP52 class (max. 15.85 meters), but with more innovative features, Wally designed the Rocket51 to beat the boats. The yacht has an ultralight displacement (just 6.3 tons) and a refined hull design. The Wally team worked with Botin Partners – a naval architecture studio involved in America’s Cup projects and more successful race yacht designs.

“The idea of Wally was to make a very strict one-design class that could provide pure racing, that was high-tech and that could provide a lot of fun, but which could also be very competitive under IRC and ORC rating rules,” begins Adolfo Carrau, Partner at Botin Partners Naval Architecture. “That was the starting point. We began with a 52-foot design because of our knowledge in that size and the fact that it’s also a size that has proven competitive in all conditions and sea states. But the first secret of the wallyrocket51 design,” he teases, “is that it’s not a 52-footer, it’s a 51-footer.”.

The Wally Rocket 51 has a minimum racing crew of just 11 people. A 550-liter water ballast tank is placed in the aft quarters of the yacht. It takes 80 seconds to fill the tank and 60 seconds to pump it out.

“It has been an incredibly interesting challenge to contribute to the development of a one-design boat that not only introduces a new class for Wally but will challenge the most competitive vessels in other classes around the world.” adds Guillermo Parada. “We are extremely satisfied with the end result, which not only needs to be fast and competitive but also technologically advanced, easy to sail and comfortable to navigate, as all the Wally are!”

The first unit is under construction and will be launched in 2024.