You undoubtedly know them: the images of the yachts competing with each other for the America's Cup. With a history that goes back 160 years, it is just about one of the oldest competitions. Until recently, it used so-called monohull ships. A few years ago, however, the switch was made to larger multi-hull yachts whose hulls consist of several layers. For the 36th edition, the Cup returns to the 'old nest'. The first images of the possible monohull yachts are nothing short of spectacular. Especially in terms of speed and safety.
The Emirates team from New Zealand is the defending champion and has spent the past few months working on several monohull concepts for the upcoming race. The AC75 concept, recently unveiled, gives a nice taste of the type of yacht that will start the upcoming America's Cup in 2020-2021 from Auckland. Notable are the two T-shaped wings, one of which is below the water surface and lifts the sailboat out of the water, so to speak, while the other is raised above the water surface and provides less drag. For take-off, manoeuvring or during rough seas, both wings can also be lowered for extra stability.
The AC75's T-wings not only increase speed but also make the sailing race safer. This is because the wings are ballasted so the sailboat will automatically right itself after capsizing. Roll stability at low speeds is also improved by this ballast. In the shed or dock, both wings are under the hull so that the necessary stability is obtained and the sailboat can also be moored in standard marinas. We are already looking at whether this innovative system with moving wings can be used in other sailing classes.
This video gives you an idea of how wings work.
