America's Cup- USA emerges from building shed much modified

by Sail-World and BMW Oracle Racing on 14 Oct 2009 Following three weeks of modifications, the BOR 90 emerged today from the boatbuilding tent at the team base in San Diego. The latest iteration of the giant trimaran the team will use to challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup boasts new features which will be worked up on shore, before the boat hits the water for more testing near the end of the month.

Most significantly, and in response to the new rules issued earlier this year for the 33rd America’s Cup by the Defender, SNG/Alinghi, the team has modified the BOR 90 cockpit to accommodate an engine. For the first time in the history of the America’s Cup, the Defender has altered the racing rules to allow using an engine to replace human power on board the race boats. Since the Cup’s inception in 1851, and in almost all other yacht racing, only manual (human) power may be used to trim sails and do other work.

On BOR 90, the engine will primarily be used to drive hydraulics for trimming the enormous sails - the mainsail alone measures nearly 7,000 square feet - that propel the boat.

Alinghi’s insistence on the use of engines has resulted in the team having not only to add an engine and related gear, but to redesign the boat’s cockpit on the center hull. With the engine, there is no longer a requirement for the grinding pedestals and sailors ('grinders') who until now provided the human power for the boat, so the cockpit has been reconfigured.

'When we originally designed and built the BOR 90, we assumed we would have to use the crew to provide all the power on board, as that has always been the case in the America’s Cup,' said design team director Mike Drummond.

'With the change to the rules, we’ve had to adapt, adjust and modify. Otherwise, the engine power that Alinghi designed into their boat would have given them a significant advantage. This all part of the process of preparing to race in February. We’ll spend some time with the boat on shore now, doing some finishing work and preliminary tests and then we’ll be sailing again to continue our boat testing and development.'



While the changes to the hull were not unexpected following the admission by Societe Nautique de Geneve, during the course of a Supreme Court Hearing that they would be deleting certain Racing Rules relating to the use of water and movable ballast, and also motive power for sheeting systems.

The change in the rules, while requiring increased weight in the yacht for the mechanical parts, will also see a reduction of about eight crew for a net weight saving of about 500kgs.

As well as the announced changes, the other modifications to the platform, as the combination of centre hull and amas (floats) are known, will include a shorter centre, or main hull. Under the rules regarding crew weight being included in the Load Water Line calculation, the reduction of the crew will cause USA to float higher, however she must still come in close to the specified 90ft LWL, and cannot exceed that measurement.

In Anacortes, a wing mast has been built, which will be fitted to the platform in San Diego, and trialled.

It is not known whether both hard and soft sail rigs will be used on the platform, or whether a favoured rig will be selected and finally tuned.

There are several options the wing mast varying from a large, single element, over-rotating mast with soft sail which gives an option between the hard and soft rig currently used.

Another option is to run with a full hard wing, which comprises several elements and which are adjusted to varying cambers to generate the required power and reduce drag. In other classes, the full hard wing is a much faster option as it will generate more power and places less strain on the boat, as there is no need for powerful sheeting systems to produce mainsail leech tension.

The downside with such rigs is that it is not that easy to carry gennakers, however it may have been possible for the BMW Oracle Racing design team to produce a solution for that issue.

Earlier, BMW ORACLE Racing announced that they have completed work on a set of important new components at their Anacortes boat-building facility in Washington State - Core Builders. The new parts will be trucked this week to the team’s testing base in San Diego. There was no mention in the announcement of what components had been constructed.

The carbon fiber components rolled out of Anacortes early Saturday morning and will soon be bound for San Diego. These latest structures will be used in future modifications to the BOR 90, the giant trimaran that the team is preparing for the 33rd America’s Cup. This next phase of development will be unveiled in San Diego in a few weeks.

The team’s boat construction managers were pleased to see the latest build project on its way to San Diego, said a media release from the team.

'Our Anacortes crew have been a vital part of our last two America’s Cup campaigns,' said Tim Smyth (NZL), who, along with Mark Turner (NZL), has been overseeing the boat-building project for the team.

'For this campaign, and with this boat, we’ve been building on a scale that hasn’t been attempted in the modern America’s Cup,' Smyth said. 'For all of us, this has been a big test of our skills and ability, and the team here in Anacortes has more than responded to the challenge. I’m very proud of what’s being accomplished here.'

While boatbuilding activity has increased in San Diego with the latest BOR 90 modifications, the Core Builders facility in Anacortes remains the backbone of the team’s American construction operations. The team in Anacortes will continue to work on America’s Cup-related projects.

The BOR 90 has been undergoing modifications in the tent-boatshed at the San Diego base since its most recent round of sea trials concluded September 20th. The boat is scheduled to emerge after the latest modifications this week and will return to the water for further testing before the end of the month.

BMW ORACLE Racing is preparing to face Alinghi in the 33rd America’s Cup in February 2010. The next Hearing in the New York Supreme Court is scheduled for 27 October, and will cover the Rules and Venue motions - with a further motion alleging a breech of Fiduciary Duty also expected to filed against the current Trustee, Societe Nautique de Geneve.