The first Yachting World H30 to be launched was Men Behaving Badly, built by Firmhelm Ltd of Pwllheli under the project management of David Green of Anson Racing Promotions Ltd. Green commissioned the boat to help promote Anson Sails in the United Kingdom, for which he has the distributorship.

A second H30 is due to launch shortly and a third is just starting to build. The second boat is owned by Bob Irvine and built by Farrow and Chambers, and the third boat for John Taylor who is doing much of the boatbuilding work himself.

Men Behaving Badly impressed immediately. Although light in displacement her high stability gives her the feel of a very much larger boat, and first indications are that she is sailing boat-for-boat with yachts that are about ten feet longer. In early club races she was beating on the water an IMX 38, a Sigma 400 and a new Corby 34.

Her initial CHS number has come out at 1.066, without an engine and with Kevlar sails and masthead spinnakers and asymmetrics. While many modern boats produce a thrilling ride but little in the way of actual trophies, the YW H30 has been pitched carefully to ensure that she delivers pots as well as exhilaration.

The 30 is not conceived as a one-design class, more as a formula which can be tailored according to an owner's particular penchance. For example, she is designed to be Mount Gay 30-compatible, with water-ballast tanks supplied as an integral part of the structure but which can be built open-fronted for stowage instead (as has been the case on Men Behaving Badly). In similar spirit, the internal headroom is such as to allow her to meet IMS regulations (which are in excess of Mount Gay 30 rules), and of course she fits very happily into the CHS environment as well.

In short, she is a thrilling boat that designed to offer an owner enormous value. In changing times where future directions in the sport are less clear than one would like, the YW H30 makes a great deal of sense.

The YW H30 is delivered as a Prefix® package comprising all the hull structural components and teak-veneered internal panels. The coachroof is supplied as a completed moulding, and the keel floor structure can also be obtained as a ready-made unit so that the whole structure of the boat can be set up in little more than a day, ready for filleting and glass taping.

The planking system is uses Western Red Cedar strip for most of the hull, with the denser Brazilian Cedar adjacent to the keel area. Once planked the hull is faired and glass sheathed for abrasion resistance and general durability.

For an owner who wants a finished boat, the YW H30 can be purchased as a turn-key product or as a structurally-complete unit.

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