A NAVAL architect who has had an eye on the world speed record for years now reckons he has the design to take man faster than any sails have taken him before.

Malcolm Barnsley, 43, from Southampton's Bitterne Manor area, first began drawing up new designs for a sailing speed craft at Southampton University at the turn of the 1980s.

Now, 21 years on, he has found the key to a new design which is more than a single hull, but not quite a catamaran - and he reckons it could skim the water at 60 miles an hour.

Working in his spare time at his home in Chafen Road, he is calling his craft the Sailrocket, and is now looking for the backing from business that could see it beat the record.

Based on an American design, it will be built of carbon fibre with a laminated plastic-based sail. It will have one nine metre long hull, a catamaran-style eight metres long crosspiece and one very short hull, which he calls a float.

The present speed record was pushed up to 46.5 knots - more than 50 miles per hour - by two Australians in 1993.

Malcolm said: "One of the advantages of my craft is that it only needs a one-person crew, which brings the weight down."

With its state-of-the-art keel and rudder, it has to go in a straight line rather than being manoeuvred round a course and, says Malcolm, the keel has to be incredibly strong to contend with around a ton of pressure at the design speed of 50 knots.

He has been working on the design for the past two years and believes the building would take 12 months, with a further six months needed to allow for finding the perfect weather conditions. "We may well have a new world record within 18 months," he said.

But first he needs commercial backing and anyone with an eye for a world record attempt can contact him on e-mail at mjb'sailrocket.fsnet.co.uk, or visit his website on www.sailrocket.fsnet.co.uk.