{"id":129881,"date":"2024-08-20T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T08:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=129881"},"modified":"2024-08-20T12:30:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T11:30:18","slug":"americas-cup-boats-7-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-ac75s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/americas-cup\/americas-cup-boats-7-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-ac75s-129881","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s Cup boats: 8 facts about the AC75 and why they’re unique"},"content":"American Magic's<\/a> new AC75<\/a>, Patriot<\/em>, has garnered significant attention due to its unique approach. While all the teams are bound by the same set of design rules, it's the subtle variations and innovative interpretations within these boundaries that could determine who ultimately claims victory at the America's Cup<\/a> in Barcelona.\r\n\r\nThe second generation of AC75s have seen incremental improvements across the board, yet American Magic's Patriot<\/em> stands out for several reasons. The American team has made some bold design choices that diverge from the more conventional paths taken by their rivals. Central to these decisions is the team's focus on maximising aerodynamic efficiency and optimising the boat's centre of effort.\r\n\r\nOne of the most noticeable aspects of Patriot<\/em> is its distinct hull design. Unlike other teams that have opted for more rounded, voluminous hulls, American Magic has taken a different route, creating a sleeker, lower-volume hull. This design is intended to reduce drag and increase the boat's ability to generate lift, potentially giving Patriot<\/em> an edge in lighter wind conditions.\r\n\r\nThe lower freeboard\u2014 the distance between the deck and the waterline \u2014 also allows the team to increase sail area close to the water, which can generate more driving force with less windage.\r\n\r\nAnother key innovation lies in the way American Magic has managed weight distribution. The team has worked diligently to reduce weight in critical areas, thereby allowing for more complex systems elsewhere on the boat. This includes the trimming systems, which are battery-powered and play a crucial role in adjusting the foils and sails during racing.\r\n\r\nArticle continues below...<\/em>\r\n\r\n[collection]\r\n\r\nBy optimising weight distribution, Patriot<\/em> is designed to achieve a balance between stability and performance, particularly in choppy conditions like those expected off the coast of Barcelona.\r\n\r\nThe decision to use recumbent cyclists (cyclors) as the primary source of power for these systems also reflects American Magic's willingness to experiment. While this choice has sparked some debate \u2014 given the lower energy output compared to more traditional grinding positions \u2014 the team believes that the aerodynamic gains and lower centre of gravity provided by the recumbent position outweigh the potential drawbacks.\r\n\r\nFurthermore, Patriot<\/em> features innovative foil designs that could offer a competitive edge. The team has focused on optimising the flaps at the back of the main foil, allowing for more precise control of lift and drag. This, combined with the overall aerodynamic improvements, could enable Patriot<\/em> to achieve higher speeds and better maneuverability in various wind conditions.\r\n\r\nHowever, with these bold choices comes significant risk. The question remains: will these radical design decisions translate into a performance advantage on race day? The true test will come when Patriot<\/em> lines up against its competitors, where every nuance of design and strategy will be put to the ultimate challenge.\r\n\r\nIn the unpredictable world of America's Cup racing, innovation often walks a fine line between triumph and disaster. Whether Patriot's unique design will give the USA the edge it needs to reclaim the Cup remains to be seen, but one thing is certain, American Magic has made a statement that they are not afraid to push the boundaries in their quest for victory.\r\n\r\n
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","excerpt":{"rendered":"

The AC75 is the class of boat that takes part in the America\u2019s Cup and are arguably the most radical boats the compeition has ever seen.\u00a0 This type of America’s Cup boat was first used in the 2021 America’s Cup so this is the second event in which these boats have been used.\u00a0\u00a0 The America\u2019s Cup is, fundamentally, a design competition, and successive America\u2019s Cups have featured the most extreme yachts yet – for their time – ever since the first race in 1851. However, the foiling boats we have seen in the last four editions of America\u2019s Cup racing (the AC72 and AC50 catamarans, and now the AC75 monohulls) do represent a new direction for the highest level of sailing. There are plenty who argue that this technology is so far beyond the bounds of what most people consider sailing as to be an entirely different sport. Equally, there are those who believe this is simply a continuation of the development that the America\u2019s Cup has always pushed to the fore, from Bermudan rigs, to composite materials, winged keels, and everything in between. Good arguments can be made either way and foiling in the world\u2019s oldest sporting trophy will always be a subjective and controversial topic. But one thing is certain: the current America\u2019s Cup boats, the AC75s, are unlike anything seen before and are showcasing to the world just what is possible under sail power alone. 1 Unimaginable speed Topping the 50-knot barrier used to be the preserve of extreme speed record craft and kiteboarders. A World Speed Sailing Record was set in 2009 of 51.36 knots by Alain Thebault in his early foiling trimaran, Hydroptere, and was bested in 2010 by kite boarder, Alexandre Caizergues who managed 54.10 knots. Only one craft has ever topped 60-knots, the asymmetric Vestas Sail Rocket 2, which was designed for straight line speed only and could no more get around an America\u2019s Cup course than cross an ocean. Such records are set by sailing an average speed over the course of 500m, usually over a perfectly straight, flat course in optimum conditions. America\u2019s Cup class yachts, designed to sail windward\/leeward courses around marks, are now hitting speeds that just over a decade ago were the preserve of specialist record attempts, while mid-race. American Magic has been recorded doing 53.31 knots on their first version of the AC75 class, Patriot. Perhaps even more impressive, in the right conditions when racing we have seen some boats managing 40 knots of boatspeed upwind in around 17 knots of wind. That is simply unheard of in performance terms and almost unimaginable just three or so years ago. Article continues below… 2 A storm onboard the AC75 Related to the speeds the boats are sailing through the water, particularly upwind, is the wind speeds the sailors will feel on deck. When sailing, the forward motion affects the wind we experience onboard, known as apparent wind. The oft’ trotted out explanation of how apparent wind works is …Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3349,"featured_media":153211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[687],"tags":[569],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129881"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129881"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153217,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129881\/revisions\/153217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129881"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=129881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}