All the decisions, detailing and engineering, design work, and training have been made - it's over
by Ken Read 27 Aug 2024 20:49 PDT
Emirates Team NZ and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli - Final race - Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta - Barcelona - August 25, 2024 © Ian Roman / America's Cup
As we all are aware, the America’s Cup Trials haven’t technically started yet, but for all practical purposes, the America’s Cup is over.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent. All the decisions, detailing and engineering, design work, and training have created a unique DNA for each program.
The die has been cast. Time will tell who made the right calls.
There are a few standout aspects of this Cup which I find interesting. First of all, the second-generation AC75s used for the 37th America’s Cup have morphed, as most Cup boats, to look fairly similar.
I know, I know. The devil is in the details, but when you look at this lineup of AC75s from a distance, with a reasonably untrained eye, they sure do look alike. That said, all the teams have taken incredible care of both aerodynamic and hydrodynamic properties. And all have generated exceptionally refined machines.
But to the more trained eye, the variations are more pronounced. Two reasons stick out to me: a change in anticipated weather conditions from Auckland to Barcelona; and the “Formula 1 Effect.”
The boats all feature low wetted surface hulls with different bustle shapes in order to pop out of the water in very light air, but also taking into account that Barcelona is expected to have a choppy/bumpy sea state compared to Auckland. The bustle down the centerline also determines how the boat connects to the water. In essence, the end plate effect connects the sail plan through the hull almost directly to the water. That has proven to be the trick and all of the teams manage this transition from sails to water (or lack of transition) a little bit differently.
By “Formula 1 Effect” I’m referring to how Red Bull and Mercedes innovations and design tools have influenced the Alinghi and INEOS programs. To my “untrained eye,” those two boats look the most radical - angular and even robotic. Clearly, there is a rhyme or reason for every little nip and tuck in the hull and appendage package. Comparatively, the American and Italian teams look to have faired their nips and tucks a little more aesthetically. We shall see how the Formula 1 world shapes up compared to the aesthetic world.
Which leads to the type of racing we can expect.
For the full story www.northsails.com/blogs/north-sails-blog/37th-americas-cup-preview-with-ken-read