One of Comanche's prime movers warns the yacht will be faster than last year and Sydney to Hobart supermaxi rival Wild Oats XI will be the learning position.
Comanche was the new boat on the block in 2014, having her first major offshore race in last year's Sydney to Hobart.
She finished second in the 630 nautical mile-slog just under 50 minutes behind Wild Oats XI, which logged a race record eighth line honours win.
Almost 12 months later, Bob Oatley's Australian yacht is still the only one to have beaten the imposing American boat in a race for line honours.
With extra knowledge of the boat accumulated through another year's racing, many of the Comanche crew are now more familiar with the way it works.
Conversely the crew of the much modified Wild Oats XI have plenty to learn about their revamped boat's capabilities in long distance offshore conditions.
"We should be faster than we were last year, just through having sailed the boat so much," Comanche's Australian-born Project Manager Tim Hacket told AAP on Friday.
"They (Wild Oats XI) have obviously got a lot of learning, because the balance of the boat will be different to what they are used to.
"I'm sure they've got a different sail wardrobe, a lot of new sails, just the whole balance of the boat, will be different.
"But they look like they've done a really good job. You would never know the boat has had anything done to it.
"They've done a lot of work in a short amount of time, so good on `em."
Hacket said Comanche had undergone some changes since last year's Hobart.
"Nothing too major, just lots of tweaking, tweaking the sail wardrobe," he said.
He confirmed they would sell with a smaller crew than last year.
"Part of that comes from learning to sail the boat," Hacket said.
"The crew is more confident in how everything works and feel they can sail with less people, so there's no need to take the extra weight on board.
"It's not just the people, it's the clothes and the food and the water add up, every little bit does count."
Wild Oats XI and Comanche are both berthed at Woolwich Dock, the same as last year when both crews got on well.
"Everyone knows everyone and it's not like a boxing match where the two guys sort of pretend to hate each other," Hacket said.
