RECORD-breaking yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur, pictured, has been getting to grips with a mock-up of her new solo trimaran yacht.

The Isle of Wight sailor, who won the gruelling 3,540 Route du Rhum transatlantic solo race at the end of last year, recently failed in her team bid to break the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe.

Her latest yacht - a 75-foot trimaran (three hulls), which will fly the colours of B&Q under the sponsorship of Kingfisher - is already under construction in Sydney, Australia.

Ellen has been testing a mock cockpit and navigation area at the base in Cowes ahead of the boat's launch in December.

"It is the first stages of bringing an idea to life," said Ellen. "There is still a long way to go until I am flying the colours of B&Q but I also have a feeling the next few months are going to fly by."

The 25-man build team at Boatspeed, Sydney, are well into the first five-week stage of building the mold tools for the main hull, floats and beams, before moving on to the second stage of laminating. The tools are wooden structures, on to which the boat is built to the exact shape of the design. The purpose of the mock-up is to physically test the ergonomics of the cockpit and accommodation layout.

Neil Graham, technical director for Team Kingfisher, said: "There is only so much that can be done on paper.

"The two dimensional images do not show us if its possible for Ellen to stand at the central grinding pedestal and reach the port winch, for example.

"With an mdf mock-up you can muck around with it - it's easy to chop and change. Whereas altering the boat further down the line is far more expensive and time consuming."

Ellen said: "Seeing the images of her molds reminded me vividly of this moment four years ago. It's an indescribable feeling of excitment and I can't wait to get out there."

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