The AC75 Concept Design
30 Nov 2017- Details
- Category: ARL News
A huge number of ideas have been considered over a four month period, by the Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa design teams, in the quest to define a class that will be extremely exciting to sail and provide great match racing during the 36th America’s Cup in 2021. The resulting AC75 concept combines extremely high-performance sailing with the safety of a boat that can right itself in the event of a capsize. The ground-breaking concept is achieved through the use of twin canting T-foils, ballasted to provide righting-moment when sailing, and roll stability at low speed. The normal sailing mode sees the leeward foil lowered to provide lift and enable foiling, with the windward foil raised out of the water to maximise the lever-arm of the ballast and reduce drag. In pre-starts and through manoeuvres, both foils can be lowered to provide extra lift and roll control, also useful in rougher sea conditions and providing a wider window for racing.
Having mainly focused on the design from a functional point of view, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa then recognized the need to visualize the AC75 concept design for the international sailing community and the wider public. The task of visualizing the concept fell to Animation Research Limited's sports division, Virtual Eye, who generated an animated simulation that showed what the design looks like, how it moves in the water, and how the canting T-foils are configured for specific conditions.
