Magic Carpet-e Takes Flight
Project: Magic Carpet-e
Vessel Type: 100ft Custom Verdier Racing Yacht Client: A collaboration between Ed Bell’s MC-e team and Persico Marine Launch Date: 2025
Magic Carpet-e, the fourth yacht in the renowned Magic Carpet series, is a 100ft carbon racer designed by Guillaume Verdier and built by Italian shipyard Persico Marine. Built predominantly for the European Maxi race circuit, the yacht also retains the ability for comfortable short handed cruising. In addition, this ground breaking yacht can race in ‘silent mode’, not requiring the use of a main engine or generator to operate, hence the ‘e’.
Our Scope
Rigging Projects was brought in early on to support the development of the deck layout and sailing systems. We were instrumental in the conceptual work of moving away from the original 8 winch / fwd pit layout and the development of the 6 winch deck arrangement without compromising any sail handling ergonomics.
This proved to be challenging due to the nature of the sail-plan that can be used in a number of configurations to suit the task at hand - be that short handed sailing, offshore ‘course record setting’ or windward leeward sailing - all of these ‘modes’ needed to be considered.
Our involvement began with a lot of upfront work to design the deck layout around the desired 6 winch system. With sail selection data provided by Jez Elliott at North Sails, we then simulated every possible sail manoeuvre (see example image below) to ensure we could achieve maximum sailing efficiency and control, all while minimising deck clutter and winch count - both important considerations for an aesthetically discerning owner and keeping weight down for performance.
Key Innovations
A number of unique solutions were developed specifically for this project, many of which are now part of Rigging Projects’ standard product offering. We designed and manufactured a 45T Pig Nose around the geometry of the required bobstay fitting and the limitations of the bowsprit tube, along with custom trumpeted through-deck ferrules tailored to the yacht’s deck thickness. Our Auto Tack Locks, based on the same designs as installed (albeit in a different configuration) on Wally V, were custom-mounted into internal carbon cassettes, allowing for luff load management without jammers, as they would not have been able to deliver the holding power required. The Switch Lead, the first opening organiser on the market, was created for Magic Carpet-e and later that year (2024) nominated for a DAME Award at METSRADE. It is now a standard RP product. Another innovation crucial to this project are the Runner Locks, a standout custom feature of MC-e, allowing full load to be transferred off the winch using a bullet system controlled below deck by Carriboni rams. It’s this development that frees up the runner winch for primary use in certain trimming or sail change manoeuvres.
Alongside these custom elements, many components were iterations from our trusted product library, including Opening X Footblocks for fast sheet changes, Padeyes, Textile loops, numerous sheaves and pins for dozens of ‘unseen’ below deck systems and of course our mast hardware such as Forward Locks and an Automatic Locking Headboard Car.
Challenges Overcome
One of the most complex challenges was integrating a low-profile jib in-out system within a highly confined aft pit layout, while also accommodating all halyard routing. This required six separate design iterations, each refined in collaboration with Verdier’s structural engineer, Hervé Penfornis, to balance functionality, ergonomics, and weight. The yacht’s fully curved top deck presented further challenges in line routing, pushing us to develop custom solutions to run the lines aft over the deck. Designing a Runner Lock system that worked seamlessly with the six-winch cockpit also demanded coordination between deck layout and below-deck mechanics, particularly in terms of how load would be distributed and managed.
Conclusion
Being involved with the project from its conception was a real privilege and a massive contributing factor to its success. Understanding the clients requirements and the challenges has led to innovations that would not have been possible to implement at later stages of the project. The 6 winch layout is a prime example of this. Without the innovations conceived by Verdier and ourselves, this would not have been possible to execute and the deck layout would have been considerably different to the sleek, clean look on show today. This innovative system has proved to be a game-changer, delivering both weight savings and simplicity. All systems function seamlessly within the compact trimming area which is testament to the rigorous design process and collaboration across teams.
It was a pleasure working with North Sails, Verdier, Persico Marine and Ed Bell, who did a phenomenal job to bring this all together.
Magic Carpet-e has now launched and is training for the 2025 Maxi racing calendar with a focus on the Maxi Worlds in September and home regatta, Voiles de Saint-Tropez, in October.
