Since 1 April, the covering of hulls and appendages such as keels and rudders has been prohibited at the AC in Valencia. The covers came off in the morning, there were no big surprises, innovations were revealed in the details - and much remains secret.
Since 1 April, the covering of hulls and appendages such as keels and rudders has been prohibited at the AC in Valencia. The covers came off in the morning, there were no big surprises, innovations were revealed in the details - and many things remained secret.
For the first time ever and for all teams, the covers had to come off - with the exception of Team Germany, which had never covered up. 19 boats were exposed to the eyes of the competing designers and the public. But anyone expecting major innovations was disappointed: no tandem keels, no Carnard rudders or even, as with the 2000 Swiss team BeHappy, two rotating keels. All teams presented the same configuration under water, a keel with a bomb and trim tab on the trailing edge as well as a rudder.
Nevertheless, the differences within this configuration were great. Long, slim bombs alternated with short, compact ones, with the financially well-off teams in particular all showing one of the variants. But there were also differences within these two main groups. Some bombs were almost square on the underside, while others were rather round overall. Some fins were rather wide, some narrow, and the general trend seemed to be towards large trim tabs.
However, it is hardly possible to draw conclusions about the speed of the boats or special racing characteristics from the configurations and shapes shown.
Because what has been revealed is most likely not the latest developments, especially for the strong teams. Although Act 13 on Tuesday will have to be contested with the appendices shown, for the top teams there is virtually nothing at stake. Whether they take one bonus point more or less into the Round Robins on 16 April is unlikely to have much effect on the final ranking.
The appendages can be changed before each round, so it is only logical that the defender Alinghi did not want to show too much yet. And Alinghi itself also kept a low profile. Designer Rolf Vrolijk confirmed to YACHT online that the appendages shown are not the final stage of development.
According to Alingi sports director Jochen Schümann, the big teams even manage to change a keel within one night. Shortly before the unveiling, Team New Zealand is said to have converted the keels of the yachts from the top configuration used in training to a semi-configuration intended for the unveiling and Act 13.
This raises the question of what the theatre is actually for. A pure media gag? Not at all. One very mundane reason is that from now on the teams' shore crews will have much less work to do, as the covering and uncovering of the yachts every time they are craned in and out takes time and energy. This was also the reason why the German team did not have to do this.
In addition, the yachts may no longer be covered up from now on; every new feature on a boat is immediately obvious to everyone. This also makes the designers' work more difficult. "From now on, we have to keep a very close eye on every team every day," says Rolf Vrolijk.
However, the early revelation is also a clear advantage for the defender Alinghi. Because as the eliminations progress, the teams will no longer be able to afford to hold back favourable developments. These will then also become apparent for Alinghi. This gives the defender the opportunity to react, as it is not subject to the pressure of competition until the AC final. However, this advantage should not be overemphasised, as Alinghi cannot test anything in training without the competition seeing it.
Last but not least, the unveiling was a valuable assessment for the designers. In addition to the appendages, the hulls were also shown for the first time, and these are much more difficult to change, so it can be assumed that they at least represent the design philosophy of each team.
In general, it could be seen that an attempt is being made to place a lot of volume in the forward area of the hull, that most hulls project far forward, have relatively flat underwater hulls and long aft overhangs. All this should lead to long effective waterlines and thus a higher hull speed. What was surprising, however, was how different the hulls look. After all, these are fifth-generation boats, exactly 100 have been built so far, and you would think that they would be so fully developed that hardly any differences are possible.
"We thought all boats would look the same," says Rolf Vrolijk, "and were surprised to find so many different configurations." The main differences range from the already familiar kinked bow to visually more pleasing, straight and even negative bow sections and U-shaped to almost angular main frames and sterns. However, it is hardly possible to draw conclusions about the characteristics of the boats from these designs. All the designers agreed that the yachts would be relatively close to each other despite their differences and that the overall package of appendages, hull, rig, sails and crew would be decisive for success. The most important advances in this cup would be achieved with wide-open mainsail heads and almost angularly rounded genoa leech, but not in the hull area.
It remains to be hoped that the assessment of the relatively similar hull potential also applies to the German team. The hull design is roughly in the middle of the spread of the boats shown, and the bomb is neither particularly long nor particularly compact. In terms of hull appearance, the "Germany I" can be categorised as an all-rounder. "I'm sure it's a boat that can sail," said Eberhard Magg, the technical director who was jointly responsible for the development. Act 13 on Tuesday, which will be held in a fleet race, will allow more reliable conclusions to be drawn.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
