[Source: Oracle Racing] Workers at the team’s base at Pier 80 in San Francisco, Core Builders Composites in New Zealand and Janicki Industries in the Pacific Northwest are targeting July for the launch of the new class of America’s Cup yacht. America’s Cup rules permit teams to launch their first AC72 yacht after July 1.
“No question the AC72 will be a big step up from the AC45 we are currently racing on the America’s Cup World Series circuit,” says team skipper James Spithill. “The AC45s have proven spectacular; the AC72s will be sensational.”
The AC72 is the new class of America’s Cup yacht that is designed to a box rule, one that sets tight limits on parameters such as length, beam, weight and wingsail area.
The team has split production of its yacht between three sites because each is a center of excellence.
At Pier 80 in the 34th America’s Cup host city, the team builds the basic molds for the hulls and crossbeams of the catamaran. The molds are then shipped to Janicki Industries, north of Seattle, Wash., where the large structures are machined to fine tolerances.
Oracle Racing training with their two AC45 yachts. San Francisco, 21 February 2012. Photo copyright Guillain Grenier / Oracle Racing
In a process in which Janicki is a world leader, high-tech resin is applied to the molds and then machined to its final shape by a five-axis mill to tolerances finer than the thickness of a sheet of paper.
“We’ve worked with Janicki for nearly 10 years because every little fraction of accuracy you achieve accumulates. Greater accuracy means less material and less weight. That means the boat is built precisely as the designers conceived it,” said shore team manager Mark Turner.
ORACLE Racing’s hull molds were refined at Janicki’s plant in the same mill that handles secret work for some of the largest manufacturers of civilian and military aircraft and aero structures in the world.
Once the finished molds are back at Pier 80, a boatbuilding team begins to laminate the high-strength, carbon-fiber cloths with epoxy resin.
Since last year teams have raced the AC45 catamaran in the America’s Cup World Series, a circuit of events in Europe and the US. The AC45 is a one-design yacht, meaning that each is built by a single manufacturer to the same exact specifications. CBC built the fleet of AC45 catamarans that were designed as a means to fast-track teams’ understanding of wingsail technology. The AC45 will continue on the World Series into next year.
The AC72 will feature next summer in the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Series (July 4-Sept. 1, 2013) and America’s Cup Finals (Sept. 7-22, 2013). The step up in performance will be phenomenal.
“In the AC45 class, the boats are the same so the results are often determined by the sailors who made the better decisions and handled their boat better,” said ORACLE Racing CEO Russell Coutts, the all-time America’s Cup winner.
“In the AC72, teams will develop their own design so technology plays a bigger role. Compared to any previous America’s Cup, the design rule is relatively tight. Technology will produce a faster, smarter boat, but not a ‘golden bullet’ design,” Coutts said.
Design comparison
| AC45 | |
| Hull Length | 13.45 m (44 feet) |
| Maximum Beam | 6.90 m (22.6 feet) |
| Wing Height | 24.50 m* (80.38 feet)) |
| Maximum Draft | 2.70 m (8.8 feet) |
| Displacement | 1,400 kgs (3,086 pounds) |
| Wing Area | 93.7 sqm (1,008.58 square feet) |
| Jib Area | 30 sqm (323 square feet) |
| Gennaker Area | 100 sqm (1,076 square feet) |
| Crew | 5@85 kgs/per (187 pounds) |
(*Note: The stock wing height for the AC45 is 21.5 m/70.5 feet)
| AC72 | |
| Hull Length | 22.0 m (72.18 feet) |
| Maximum Beam | 14.0 m (45.93 feet) |
| Wing Height | 40.0 m (131.23 feet) |
| Maximum Draft | 4.4 m (14.44 feet) |
| Displacement | 5,900 kg (13,007 pounds) |
| Wing Area | 260 sqm (2,798 square feet) |
| Jib Area | 100 sqm (1,076 square feet) |
| Gennaker Area | 00 sqm (4,305 square feet) |
| Crew | 11@92 kgs/per (203 pounds) |
February 22nd, 2012 at 11:31 am
There might be an issue handling the wing of the AC72! 240meter tall!
February 22nd, 2012 at 4:34 pm
unfortunatly these boat´s and the entire surrounding show is a ridiculous and obscene waste of money with all the économical problems poor people face in the world today , lack of jobs , housing , food etc. you would think that the americans would be more sensitive to the situation in the world and have an event with a more realistic finacial basis not only so that more partisapants could be found but also would be based on solid sailing fundimentals sailing is not F1 and never will be , will see how this story end´s for sure there is going to be one really upset loser who has given some people who surrounded him with alot of for sure we can´s alot of money , and i mean alot , will be fun to watch the press conference , enjoy
February 23rd, 2012 at 3:38 am
Ummmm. Interesting.
February 23rd, 2012 at 3:43 am
Not sure who they’re trying to impress with this three centres of excellence stuff.. yawn.. Same old boring crap.
February 23rd, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Not a lot going on in sail production?
February 28th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
To Adam Ostenfeld,
What you mention, “the entire surrounding show is a ridiculous and obscene waste of money with all the économical problems poor people face in the world today” is thanks to the ambition of Russell Coutts, who has been obcesced with the World Sailing League circuit, aka 70 foot catamarans sailing in differents venues around the world.
When ORACLE Racing won the 33rd America’s Cup in 2010, he saw the opportunity to transform the AC into his beloved World Sailing League show, and now we have the ACWS, where 8 teams plus defender sail in 45 foot cats.
Next step: the AC72 been launch in July 2012, but only 3 teams (Artemis, Luna Rossa, ETNZ) plus ORACLE Racing (the defender) will be able to afford this very expensive catamarans.
In few words, now we have the World Sailing League (aka America’s Cup World Series) in AC45 cats; from July 2012 will be in AC72 catamarans, and next year we will have the Louis Vuitton Cup + America’s Cup Match in the same yacht.
And still nobody cares about racing in cats. Don’t be surprise if we get a new yacht for the AC right after the 2013 AC is over (in case ETNZ or Luna Rossa wins this thing).
Best regards,
Cristian Palau
March 1st, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Dear Adam Ostenfeld,
Why not let them do whatever they like? They are not doing harm to anybody – just spending money that would otherwise sit in the bank account. There are plenty of very competitive OD classes that offer sailing at the highest level for less wealthy sailors.