Work on AC45 catamarans moving ahead in New Zealand

[Source: America's Cup] Work on the AC45 catamarans, which the Cup teams will use to race in the 2011 America’s Cup World Series events, is continuing at pace in Warkworth, New Zealand.

Dubbed the ‘little sister with attitude’ in comparison to the enormous AC72 cats the teams will race in the Louis Vuitton Cup and America’s Cup, the first AC45 is scheduled to be launched in the new year, with others rolling off the assembly quickly thereafter. Entered competitors will have a chance to participate in sea trials following the initial launch.

After the 2011 season, the AC45s will be used in the Youth America’s Cup series, developing the next generation of Cup sailors.

Construction of the first AC45 catamaran. Warkworth, 17 December 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / America's Cup

Construction of the first AC45 catamaran. Warkworth, 17 December 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / America's Cup

Construction of the first AC45 catamaran. Warkworth, 17 December 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / America's Cup

Construction of the first AC45 catamaran. Warkworth, 17 December 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / America's Cup

Construction of the first AC45 catamaran. Warkworth, 17 December 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / America's Cup

Construction of the first AC45 catamaran. Warkworth, 17 December 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / America's Cup

Construction of the first AC45 catamaran. Warkworth, 17 December 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / America's Cup

Video: Second stage of production of the AC45

Tim Smyth, Core Builders, guides us through the 2nd stage production of the AC45. Video copyright America's Cup

A milestone week for AC45 construction in New Zealand

[Source: America's Cup] This week marked a significant milestone in the building of the new AC45 catamarans, when the first hull was released from its moulds at the Core Boatbuilding facility in Warkworth, north of Auckland, New Zealand.

“This is an exciting time for us,” said Tim Smyth, who along with Mark Turner directs the boatbuilding operation. “This is where we get to see the quality we have achieved.”

Built in carbon epoxy with honeycomb cores, the hulls are extremely stiff and light structures, engineered to tight margins and demanding very high accuracy from the boatbuilders. The sandwich construction involves two carbon skins less than 1mm thick laminated over an ultra-light honeycomb core, with the laminates baked under vacuum pressure in a giant oven for eight hours at 80°C.

The first hull of the first AC45 yacht is now ready. Warkworth, 17 November 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins/www.americascup.com

The hulls are built in two halves in female moulds. Then internal bulkheads and structures are added, before the two halves are bonded together to create a single hull.

There was an air of anticipation as the two half-hulls were released from their moulds, lifted by hand and placed in cradles. The finish quality and details were closely inspected, before Smyth gave a satisfied smile. “They are good,” he said, as the rest of the boatbuilding team returned to their tasks.

The workload at Core Boatbuilders has been intense as they meet the challenge of setting up a semi-production run of high-tech wing-sail catamarans, which will usher in the new era of America’s Cup racing.

While the first boat begins to take shape, the larger task remains to produce a number of these high-tech boats in time for teams to prepare for the America’s Cup World Series starting in Europe in mid-2011.

Also under construction at the Warkworth site are the wing sails that take these yachts to a new level of performance and sophistication. “These boats are special because of the wing sails,” said Smyth. “That is what makes them distinct.”

The first hull of the first AC45 yacht is now ready. Warkworth, 17 November 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins/www.americascup.com

Overall, the articulating wings represent a similar surface area to the hulls, but are much more complex. “More than 350 parts go into the wing. That is a lot of components to build and put together.”

Smyth and Turner led the construction of BMW ORACLE Racing’s victorious hard-wing trimaran and have drawn on that experience in building the AC45s. However, in one sense the smaller catamarans and their wings present an additional challenge. Instead of building a single custom design, a still-undetermined number of absolutely identical catamarans have to be built, requiring tooling for a semi-production run.

“It all has to be repeatable and efficient to keep the costs down. It is one thing to do that with hulls, but I don’t think anybody has done a production run of wings before.”

With any new design, there is usually a period of testing and refinement before committing to final production. With the AC45s, the pressure has been on the designers and builders to get it right first time, because the tooling is already committed.

Smyth is confident that if any issues arise from sea trialing, they will be able to address them. But he is hopeful that most refinements will be confined to areas like deck layouts and handling systems rather than major structural pieces.

Because of the tight time constraints, Core Boatbuilders has sub-contracted some of the work to companies in and around the Auckland region.

“We are building the first boat here,” said Smyth, “but after that we probably will not build any more hulls.” Cookson Boats are already working on a second set and they will continue to produce hulls, while the Core site concentrates on the wings.

“Logistically, this has been a big undertaking for us because of the very tight timeframe,” said Smyth. “It is all happening so quickly that it is hard to take a breath and assess what we have achieved. We are not congratulating ourselves just yet. If you think of the construction process like a funnel, we are still at the wide entry point. There is a long way to go.”

The first hull of the first AC45 yacht is now ready. Warkworth, 17 November 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins/www.americascup.com

End of an era

While a new America's Cup class, AC72, will become reality in less than two years and her small sister, AC45, will be sailing in less than two months from now, the sun is setting over the ACC at the Dubai International Marine Club.

The last 4 yachts, from a class that started in 1992, to be taking part in official racing are getting ready in the Arab emirate for the upcoming Louis Vuitton Trophy. The event's photo editor, Carmen Hidalgo, just arrived at the venue and shot a few nice shots of the remaining "dinosaurs" a couple of days before they are launched for their last regatta.

One of the four ACC yachts to be used in races, getting ready for the Dubai Louis Vuitton Trophy. Dubai, 6 November 2010. Photo copyright Carmen Hidalgo

The sun sets over the ACC yachts. Dubai, 6 November 2010. Photo copyright Carmen Hidalgo

The sun sets over the ACC yachts. Dubai, 6 November 2010. Photo copyright Carmen Hidalgo

Meanwhile in Warkworth... Lamination of AC45 hull #1

It's still extremely early to know whether the AC45's will deliver the promised close and exciting racing but one thing is absolutely certain, construction of the first yacht is advancing at full speed and the America's Cup organizers are openly documenting the process.

New Zealander Ivor Wilkins visited the boatyard in Warkowrth and shot the first pictures of the lamination of hull #1. The first yacht is scheduled to be ready around Christmas and will undergo the first sea trials during the first two weeks of 2011. It will belong to ACRM and will be shared, for testing purposes, among teams who have entered the event.

According to Iain Murray, Regatta Director of the 34th America’s Cup, a system will be set up "that will give all entered competitors the first chance at testing the boats as they come off the production line".

In terms of getting their own AC 45, the boats will be assigned in order of entry.

The next three or four boats are scheduled to be delivered on March 1 and will be assigned to the Defender and Challenger of Record, along with the first teams to have their challenge accepted.

The application process for the 34th America's Cup opened yesterday and two new challengers have filed their papers. One of them, Artemis Racing, have already made it public while the second one hasn't been revealed. The America's Cup organization will not publicly announce the identity of the teams.

Lamination of AC45 hull #1. Warkworth, 1 November 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins/www.americascup.com

Lamination of AC45 hull #1. Warkworth, 1 November 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins/www.americascup.com

Video: First stage of AC45 production in Warkworth, New Zealand

Iain Murray, the newly-appointed CEO of ACRM, has paid a visit to New Zealand and the Core Builders facility where work is underway on the first AC45 catamaran.

The first boat is due to be launched before Christmas, with initial sea trials are planned immediately afterward. Representatives from potential challengers to the 34th America's Cup will be invited to participate.

The video below was shot with Iain during his visit to Core Builders in Warkworth, New Zealand.

Footage from the AC45 production. Warkworth, New Zealand. Video copyright America's Cup

AC72 Class Rule finalized and published

Related PDF Documents

Download the AC72 Class Rule

[Source: BMW Oracle] From concept to completed Class Rule in less than four months, full details of the new high-performance wingsailed catamaran were published today.

The spectacular AC72 catamaran ensures that the 34th America’s Cup will feature the best sailors in the world on the fastest boats.

The AC72 Class Rule moves America’s Cup racing to catamarans with a speed potential of three times the wind speed, putting the venerable competition back at the forefront of technology.

The finalized class rule represents a tireless effort by Pete Melvin and his team at Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering Inc to create a new boat on behalf of the America’s Cup community.

On July 2, to ensure the rule was created independently, the defending Golden Gate Yacht Club and its sailing team BMW ORACLE Racing presented a two page concept paper to US SAILING and Morrelli & Melvin and asked them to turn it into a fully formed multihull design rule.

Throughout the AC72’s gestation, the fundamental requirements have remained unchanged:

• Ensure fast, exciting racing
• Challenge sailors and designers
• Capture fans’ imagination
• Be versatile across the wind range, to minimize race delays
• Be capable of competitive racing in light and strong winds
• Incorporate wide-ranging cost-reduction features

AC72 Key Features:

Hull Length	22.00 m (72 feet)
Lenght Overall	26.20 m (85 feet)
Beam	14.00 m (46 feet)
Weight (w/o crew)	5,900 kg (13,000 pounds)
Crew	11
Maximum Draft	4.40 m (14 feet)
Wingsail Height	40.00 m (131 feet)
Tall Wingsail Area	260.0 m2 (2,800 square feet)
Short Wingsail Area	230.0 m2 (2,475 square feet)
Projected Top Speed	32 knots
Onboard cameramen	2 maximum
Cameramen positions	3 (1 aft, 1 forward in each hull)
Remote TV cameras	7
High quality audio microphones	18 (including 11 crew)
Easy assembly/disassembly	Under 48 hours

“The AC72s will look amazing, will be very fast, and will take the America’s Cup into a new dimension,” said Melvin, himself a multihull champion.

“There will be nothing else like them, which perfectly matches the allure and appeal of the America’s Cup,” Melvin added. “We are grateful for the input of many, many designers, sailors and other experts.”

On September 16 a draft was circulated to potential teams and the sailing community at large. Since then over 500 comments were received and assimilated by Melvin’s team. Many have been incorporated into the final rule.

Teams may design and build a maximum of two AC72 catamarans. The AC72s will be raced from the 2012 season onwards in America’s Cup World Series events that will lead to the Selection Series and the America’s Cup Match in 2013.

In 2011, teams will compete in identical AC45’s, “the little sister with attitude.” This one-design catamaran will provide teams with state-of-the-art wingsail technology and fast-track their multihull racing skills.

New AC45 catamaran class takes shape

[Source: BMW Oracle] Boat No. 1 slated to hit the water in December.

America’s Cup Regatta Director Iain Murray today inspected production of the new AC45 catamaran class.

The AC45 is the little sister with attitude to the AC72. Both classes are fundamental parts of the transformation of the America’s Cup.

A one-design wingsail catamaran of 45 feet, the AC45 has been created to fulfill three roles:
- Fast-track teams for the 34th America’s Cup to a common level of catamaran sailing and wingsail technology at the outset of their campaigns.
- Provide a class of boat for the 2011 season of the new America’s Cup World Series.
- Provide a class of boat for the Youth America’s Cup commencing in 2012.

The first catamaran is slated for launching around Christmastime in Auckland, New Zealand. Sea trials are planned immediately afterwards with representatives from potential challengers to the 34th America’s Cup invited to participate.

AC45 construction at NZ Core Builders facility - Hull moulds preparation. Warkworth, 12 October 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / www.americascup.com

“The America’s Cup is now starting from a completely clean sheet of paper,” said Murray during his visit.

The rights to the design and administration of the build, sales, service and competition are vested in America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM), the independent race management authority for the 34th America’s Cup.

“The change to catamarans will see competitors racing round the track at 20 to 40 knots. It is going to be very fast and exciting. The event needed big changes and now it is happening,” added Murray.

DESIGN

The AC45 was designed and engineered by BMW ORACLE Racing on behalf of the America’s Cup community. Manolo Ruiz de Elvira led the hull design development, Scott Ferguson the wingsail development, and Dirk Kramers the structures team.

Mark Turner and Tim Symth of Core Builders, Warkworth, created production tooling for the hull platform and wingsail, and will produce the initial batch of boats in collaboration with other New Zealand marine industry specialists including Cookson Boats and Hall Spars NZL. Steering and daggerboard assemblies have been sub-contracted to C-Tech Carbon Technology and Craig Stirling Composites Engineering.

The AC45 is a versatile, one-design class with controlled costs and ease-of-maintenance a priority. The hulls and cross-beams are designed for simple and fast assembly to accommodate the active racing schedule.

The one-design wingsail consists of two elements. It is a scaled down concept of the 223-foot tall wing that powered BMW ORACLE Racing’s trimaran USA to victory in the 33rd America’s Cup Match.

The wing will have simple, manual control systems. There will be two headsail options, a gennaker and jib, but no Code 0 headsail.

“The AC45 is small enough that it doesn’t need hydraulics. The loads drop quickly when you get down to a boat of this size,” said Ian Burns, design team coordinator for BMW ORACLE Racing. “There aren’t even grinder pedestals. The winches will be powered by top-handle grinding.”

AC45 construction at NZ Core Builders facility - Hull moulds preparation. Warkworth, 12 October 2010. Photo copyright Ivor Wilkins / www.americascup.com

Keeping with the simplification theme, the AC45 will have straight daggerboards. No articulation beyond raising and lowering is permitted.

Crews are likely to number five at an average weight of 85 kilograms (approximately 187 pounds) to fit the AC45’s future role in the Youth America’s Cup.

CONSTRUCTION

Cookson Boats and other key suppliers have been engaged to work with Core Builders to ensure swift production of the first batch of boats at a rate of two a month. Another designated boatbuilder in the USA or Europe is envisaged.

Boats will be delivered in sequence of ordering.

After use next year in the ACWS, the AC45 will be used for the Youth America’s Cup, a series to be run in 2012 in conjunction with the ACWS.

Video: TV New Zealand reports on the new AC45's

TV New Zealand's Martin Tasker visited the BMW Oracle boatyard in Warkworth, NZ in order to report on the brand new AC45's under construction there.

Martin Tasker visits the BMW Oracle boatyard. Auckland, 15 September 2010. Video copyright TV New Zealand