America’s Cup Monohull Concept Unveiled

By Rebecca Bradbury 23 November 2017

The concept for the AC75, the class of boat to be sailed at the 36^th America’s Cup taking place in New Zealand in 2021 – has been revealed, marking a bold and modern vision for high performance fully foiling monohull racing yachts.

The Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa design teams have spent the past four months evaluating a wide range of monohull concepts. Their goal has been to design a class that will be challenging and demanding to sail, rewarding the top level of skill for the crews.

The AC75 combines extremely high-performance sailing and great match racing with the safety of a boat that can right itself in the event of a capsize.

rendering of the new AC75 concept to be raced at the 36th America's Cup in New Zealand

diagram of the stable sailing mode of the AC75, to be raced at the 36th America's Cup

diagram of the normal sailing mode of the of the AC75, to be raced at the 36th America's Cup

diagram of the twin canting T-foils of the AC75, to be raced at the 36th America's Cup

This ground-breaking concept is achieved through the use of twin canting T-foils, ballasted to provide righting-moment when sailing and roll stability at low speed.

The normal sailing mode sees the leeward foil lowered to provide lift and enable foiling, with the windward foil raised out of the water to maximise the lever-arm of the ballast and reduce drag.

In pre-starts and through manoeuvres, both foils can be lowered to provide extra lift and roll control, also useful in rougher sea conditions and providing a wider window for racing.

Our analysis of the performance of the foiling monohulls tells us that once the boat is up and foiling, the boat has the potential to be faster than an AC50
Grant Dalton, CEO, Emirates Team New Zealand

Plus, the wingsail design seen in Bermuda has been done away with in favour of a more traditional sailing rig as there has been no transfer of this technology. The failure to provide affordable and sustainable technology ‘trickle down’ to other yachts goes against one of the cup's underlying principles.

Research into possible innovations for the AC75’s rig is still ongoing and will be released, along with the AC75 Class Rule, before 31^st March 2018.

Grant Dalton, CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, said: ‘Our analysis of the performance of the foiling monohulls tells us that once the boat is up and foiling, the boat has the potential to be faster than an AC50 both upwind and downwind.’

VIDEO: The exciting new #americascup class boat is revealed. A full foiling monohull made for match racing #AC75 #ETNZ #ARL @VirtualEyeTV pic.twitter.com/NNGIDvz0FL
— EmiratesTeamNZ (@EmiratesTeamNZ) November 20, 2017

To be on the sidelines in Auckland, New Zealand, taking in the 36th America's Cup from the comfort of a luxury charter yacht, speak to your preferred charter broker.

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