The Next America's Cup in Multihulls

brian eiland · 06-19-2009, 02:13 AM

America's Cup boat design shrouded in mystery

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/06...t/#cnnSTCVideo

brian eiland · 07-04-2009, 09:11 AM

America’s Cup: the Alinghi catamaran, July 4. 2009

text HERE

...and a few photos in the tent

WOW

, imagine the loads at those connection points between hulls and crossbeams...even without the huge rigging loads that will be applied!!

Kevin · 07-04-2009, 09:41 AM

When/if this race happens, it will quite possibly be one of the most epic sailing events ever!

YachtNews · 07-04-2009, 02:58 PM

I never thought I would see America's Cup racing with multi-hulls...

brian eiland · 07-04-2009, 06:57 PM

Interesting report and interesting photos...some history as well

http://www.sail-world.com/USA/index.cfm?SEID=0&Nid=58599&SRCID=0&ntid=19&tickeru id=0&tickerCID=0

Check out that central fore-to-aft beam. I knew there had to be something like this being utilized, but it wasn't shown in those first photos. ...from a couple of years ago a discussion of their 40 foot lake racing model....Vessel Substructure to Support Rigging Loads

Pascal · 07-05-2009, 01:08 PM

what i REALLY wonder is how are they going to take this thing down to the med?? i don't think the cat can be disassembled... it's one thing to use a big helo to get to the lake (a few miles?) but hundreds of miles including some rugged terrain?

they dont' intend on racing on Lake Leman, do they? I thought the Deed stated the Cup has to be raced for on an ocean or sea open to the ocean.

brian eiland · 07-05-2009, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pascal

what i REALLY wonder is how are they going to take this thing down to the med?? i don't think the cat can be disassembled... it's one thing to use a big helo to get to the lake (a few miles?) but hundreds of miles including some rugged terrain?

I believe it was quoted that they were bringing in a big Russian helo that can do the job...longer distance and greater altitude

brian eiland · 07-06-2009, 01:16 AM

James Boyd, Daily Sail:
The boat shares the same engineering nightmare as Team Phillips in that she has a rear and centre crossbeam, but no forward beam. This is to reduce weight forward and the alarming tendency catamaran forward beams have to slam into waves (unless freeboard at the bow is enormous- and thus heavy - as it is on for example Orange 2).

With the main central crossbeam around 50% of the way back from the bow this leaves a huge length of bow unsupported.and remember what happened to Team Philips. However in the Team Philips case the bow snapped off due to a build error that had resulted in the carbon laminate 'blowing off' the Nomex core in this crucial area. We suspect that given the exacting detail of the Swiss team's engineers and builders this will not be the case here. Nonetheless the unsupported bows remain a questionable area of her overall structure

FISHTIGUA · 07-06-2009, 03:45 PM

I'm not sure about Cats as the ultimate in match racing.

What does the 'auld mug' stand for today?

a/ Is it the battle for the start line? Cats are rubbish at this.

b/ Is it the tactical hunting to windward between teams to the first mark? Cats are a bit rubbish at this too.

c/ Is it now a race on a reach or downwind to the line? Yes, now we have a Drag Race.

We all know 'He who has the biggest wallet wins' in all Drag Races, and gains gold.

I think they should all be in 50 foot skiffs. Now that would sort the men from the boys.

Just look how well the 'nasty' the new Volvo Around the World boats shift! Fast, very fast and they race up to the line, now thats fun to watch.

In a Digital Age its nice to see a bit of analog seamanship and grunt.

brian eiland · 07-06-2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FISHTIGUA

We all know 'He who has the biggest wallet wins' in all Drag Races, and gains gold.

I think they should all be in 50 foot skiffs. Now that would sort the men from the boys.

Just look how well the 'nasty' the new Volvo Around the World boats shift! Fast, very fast and they race up to the line, now thats fun to watch.

In a Digital Age its nice to see a bit of analog seamanship and grunt.

I agree with you Fishtigua. Here is a little comment I added over on Sailing Anarchy:
You might notice I posted my original discussion of this unique vessel back in 2006.

Had I been following all of this America's Cup crap even loosely, I'd have made a bet it was something based on these cats he has been racing on Lake Geneva. So that wasn't so difficult to figure out, given the time constraints they were under.

I haven't let myself get too excited about this race as it was just so much legal bull****. And the last time I got excited about a multihull in the America's Cup (as I was in the business at the time), it came and went so quickly that I wondered what worth it was in promoting the multihull breed. This event will probably do the same...very little.
My contention at that time is that the NZ monohull could have been beat by a souped-up Stiletto 23...now that would have made a statement !!

What has truly propelled multihulls into mainstream is the French embrace of the vessels. I was there at the beginning, the Formula 40 racing class in France. Randy Smyth (with Cam Lewis on board) was the only American boat, and he did a great job representing the USA.

Too bad this race is about who has the biggest cock...rather than some real sophistication

brian eiland · 07-06-2009, 09:04 PM

...this is funny...courtesy of Latitude 38

Before heading north to Newport and Catalina, we stopped by the BMW Oracle compound — which is located next to Joe's Crab Shack in downtown San Diego — to see what was going on. The biggest noticeable change since last November is that they brought the big white fabric building in which the 90-ft by 90-ft trimaran had been built down from Washington. Since the sophisticated tri wasn't anywhere in sight, we presume she was inside getting worked on. A short distance from the building were what appeared to be three massive carbon fiber masts.

From the outside, the compound looked pretty quiet. As we stood looking at the rather small BMW Oracle sign near the guard station, we were approached by a duck who was eager to talk. "If you're looking for a finely crafted German automobile or some world class enterprise software, you won't find them in that building," he said. "No, what's inside that building is the trimaran that's going to be used in the next America's Cup. Alinghi, the Defenders, don't have to announce where the Cup is going to be held for a few more months, but it has to be held by the end of next February."

Surprised to meet a duck with such an interest in sailing, to say nothing of having a fine command of the English language, we just nodded and let him continue.

"Last year they had the tri sailing at more than 40 knots, which would be fast enough to get my feathers ruffled. Given the speeds and loads, somebody could really get hurt. No wonder that principle helmsman James Spitall and the rest of the crew wear helmets and body armor. And that there are EMTs on the support boats that chase the big tri. There have been rumors around the nest that Larry Ellison, owner of the campaign, sailed on the tri once, and that was enough for him. What's even more telling is that Russell Coutts, the America's Cup legend, is rumored to be afraid of the boat, too. But I think that's just gossip, don't you?

"You probably want to know what they've been doing inside that building since they stopped sailing operations in February," said the loquacious duck without giving us time to answer his question. "I'd probably end up as Peking duck on the BMW Oracle crew menu if they knew that I told you, but they've been making a hard sail for the trimaran. Sort of like the one Dennis Conner used when his catamaran beat the Kiwi 'big boat' monohull in the funky America's Cup in San Diego many years ago. I also heard that something like $5 million was spent on either modifying or replacing the two outer hulls. If anyone is feeling sorry for syndicate owner Larry Ellison, they don't have to. My 401K for ducks has taken a beating in the last year, but not from Oracle. They had an operating income of almost $8 billion in the last quarter, and if I'm not mistaken, Ellison still owns something like 20% of the company. So he's not having to chase the America's Cup with a cup in his hand."

"But when is the big tri going to be test-sailing again?" we asked.

"I'm glad you asked," said the duck, "because the big news is that they'll be sailing shortly. If you're in San Diego, you won't be able to miss her. But at the speed she travels, you won't be able to see her for long — unless you're in one of those F-18s flying out of North Island."

Since the duck seemed to be such a know-it-all, we asked him who he was picking to win the next Cup. "Some chicks and I were discussing the America's Cup the other day, and figure BMW Oracle has their work cut out for them. I'm just a duck, but I figure this is going to be — because of the extreme speeds and risk of personal injury and boat destruction — the most NASCAR-like America's Cup ever."

- latitude / rs

84far · 07-07-2009, 12:22 AM

hi all

though Trizilla and Catzilla will be very impressive bits of technology... or hardcore full stop (body armor... WHAT!). i would have to say america's cup has just been f*@ked over.
the only thing this series will gain is a boat going faster. they have lost everything that mad a good match race. i might just keep following the LVPS.
formula 1 got rid of aero to make the racing closer for the viewers, which worked. AC's have gone backwards for the closer racing... i guess time will tell...?

what ever happen to the AC90's???

far

brian eiland · 07-09-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian eiland

...Check out that central fore-to-aft beam. I knew there had to be something like this being utilized, but it wasn't shown in those first photos. ...from a couple of years ago a discussion of their 40 foot lake racing model....Vessel Substructure to Support Rigging Loads

Interesting photo of 'wired' support 'structure'

brian eiland · 07-09-2009, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pascal

what i REALLY wonder is how are they going to take this thing down to the med?? i don't think the cat can be disassembled... it's one thing to use a big helo to get to the lake (a few miles?) but hundreds of miles including some rugged terrain?

Well here is the portion of the lake trip:

...more HERE

Pascal · 07-09-2009, 09:31 AM

intersting article
http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Americ...d-Weight/58754

The cup needs to be at the cutting edge of sailing, just light Formula 1 has to be as techonologically advanced as possible compared to lesser racing series. This is going to be an incredibly exciting match.