Friday, April 07, 2006

GER-89 passes reference measurement, corresponds to the America’s Cup rules

With a certain feeling of satisfaction, mixed with a bit of relief, principal designer Axel Mohnhaupt bade the America’s Cup Management’s (ACM) measurer farewell on Thursday lunch time. James Dadd had spent two half days scrutinizing the new yacht of the United Internet Team Germany, that is currently under construction at the Kiel-based Knierim-Yachtbau shipyard. Apart from minimal alterations necessary to be made in two certain deck sections, GER-89 passed her first so-called reference measurement okay.

It must have been an almost shocking sight to the unfamiliar on-looker when James Dadd drove a drill into the hull to fix a couple of screws into various places of the carbon fibre body. “Those will remain with the boat from now on, and will serve as points of reference for the main in-water measurement at a later point in time,” explained the 34-year old boat-builder, who acts as a free-lance measurer for all important regatta classes.

“The boat now has a documented system of coordinates,“ continues Mohnhaupt the explanation, and he adds that now the yacht’s waterline has been determined, too. The system will be used in future measurement checks or to see whether GER-89 adheres to the strict AC regulations whenever adaptations have been made to the yacht. However, she will not get the measurement certificate before finally arriving in Valencia, where not only her maximum weight of 24,009 kilograms will be checked, but also a full in-water measurement with keel, mast, and full equipment awaits her.

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