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Intro:
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The new America's Cup yachts.
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The
AC72:
The AC72 is a 72-foot catamaran with
a wingsail. These are the boats which will be
used in the 34th Defense of the America's Cup in 2013,
and in the challenger selection series of the Louis
Vuitton Cup regatta.
Yachts will be designed and built
starting in 2011, launching July, 2012, for early
testing, and begin racing in 2013. Each team's
designers and builders create their own hulls, wings,
soft sails, and underwater foils within the confines of
the rules, and test and refine their designs as the
racing moves forward. Teams may build a second
AC72 yacht as their resources allow.
Development and Testing: Latest Photos, Videos, and
links to more
Track
the AC72s in development
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Image:©2011 americascup.com (left), ©2011 ETNZ (right) |
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The AC45:
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AC45 Boat #1 launched January 16,
2010.
Click image for photo gallery.
Photo: ©2011Gilles
Martin-Raget/americascup.com
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AC45 First Sail.
Click image for photo gallery.
Photo: ©2011
Gilles Martin-Raget/americascup.com
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Letting her rip.
Click image for photo gallery.
Photo: ©2011
Gilles Martin-Raget/americascup.com
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The AC45 is a one-design 45-foot long catamaran with a
wingsail. Identical boats are being built for
each team, who will train and race them in the 2011-12
and 2012-13
America's Cup World Series seasons. The AC45
is meant to give sailors and shore crews experience
handling this sort of high-tech cat, and to permit
multihull racing to begin this year. Teams may
modify the rigs and appendages for testing, though not
the hulls. During racing, however, the AC45's
must remain in their one-design configuration.
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AC72 vs. AC45
Basic Specifications and Some Details:
AC72 Class Approximate Dimensions Compared to the AC45 Class
Yachts:
| Approximate
Dimensions |
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AC72
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AC45
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Metric |
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English |
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Metric |
English |
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Length Over All |
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22.0 m |
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72 ft |
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13.45 m |
44.13 ft |
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| Beam |
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14.0 m |
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46 ft |
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6.9 m |
22.6 ft |
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| Draft |
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4.4 m |
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14 ft 5 in |
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| Mast
Height |
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40 m |
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131 ft 7 in |
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21.5 m |
70 ft 6 in |
AC45 See Note 1 |
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Displacement |
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5,700 - |
5,900 kg |
12,555 - |
13,007 lbs |
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1,400 kg |
3086 lbs |
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| Sail
area |
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| Wing
only |
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255 - |
260 sq m |
2744 - |
2798 sq ft |
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85 sq m |
915 sq ft |
AC45 See Note 1 |
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Gennaker |
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320 sq m+ |
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3444
sq ft+ |
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48 sq m |
515 sq ft |
AC72 Estimated |
| Main
& Gennaker |
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580
sq m+ |
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6242
sq ft+ |
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133 sq m |
1430 sq ft |
AC72 Estimated |
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Notes on Dimensions:
Wing
Height:
For the AC72, this is the measurement of the top of the wing
itself from the waterline. With the optional wing extension
mounted, the AC45 wing gains about 4 meters in overall height
(See Note 1).
Draft:
Draft is taken in "Measurement Condition" with appendages at
maximum depth. Daggerboards may retract, rudders may not.
Sailing
Weight:
For the AC72, 5,700 kg is the minimum. 5,900 kg maximum.
The AC72 Rule references "Sailing Weight" and not "Displacement",
which is the term more traditionally seen in Rating Rules for
race yachts.
Sail
Area:
The foresails for the AC72 do not have an explicit area limit.
Gennakers on the AC72's by rule actually have a minimum width,
not a maximum, and overall area could be much larger than the
lower estimate show here, depending on the ingenuity of each
team. With the optional wing extension mounted, the AC45
wing gains about 8 square meters of sail area (see Note 1).
Note 1:
For 2012, the AC45's will have an optional wing extension that
increases the height of the sail by 4 meters, adding about 8
square meters of sail area. The extension is standardized and
supplied to all teams for use when wind conditions are light.
Read more at America's Cup web site
More Info:
The Christmas
Tree:
Photo:©2011 ACEA/Gilles
Martin-Raget
AC45 Tech: What's new in SD?
To the right of the America's Cup-winning billionaire in the
above photo is the latest addition to the Cup cats, the Christmas
Tree. What does it do?
Read
more at CupInfo
Related Articles:
Interview with designer and AC72 rule author Pete Melvin at
CupInfo:
Part 1:
Making the Multihull Decision
Part 2:
Wingsails and the AC72 Rule
A detailed independent CFD
analysis of the AC45 Wingsail has been published by Andrea
Meschini at Politecnico di Milano. Unfortunately for
English-language readers, the text is in Italian, but even the
visuals may be instructive for the curious.
Download Meschini Thesis (14MB pdf)
Cat Families:
Wingsail multihulls compared in drawing by François Chevalier
comparing wing cats from the SL33 up to USA 17:
Chevalier-Taglang Blog
Press Releases:
AC72 Class Rule Announcement:
Press Release (Oct 15, 2010)
AC72 and AC45 First Revealed:
Press Release (September 13, 2010)
More Visuals:
AC72 CGI Animation at YouTube:
Video (October, 2010)
Additional Links and Info:
Visit
Official America's Cup web site
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