Boat International — January 2018

This time “the size of the wingsail on the Oracle

boatwasthesameasthewingofanAirbusA320,”

says Pierre-Marie Belleau, head of business

development at the commercial aircraft

manufacturer’s France-based HQ, which

collaborated with the US team on the AC50

catamaran that defended this year’s 35th edition

of the competition, eventually losing out to

Emirates Team New Zealand.

Itwasn’tonlytheirdimensionsthatthe

catamaran sail and aircraft wing had in common;

parts of their structure were extremely similar, too.

Onanaircraft“theairflowaroundthewingcreates

greaterpressureononesidethantheother,so

creating lift,” Belleau explains. “So, just as in

anairplane,theshapeofthewingsailisimportant

Above: Oracle Team

USA’s technological

sophistication was

aided by Airbus’s

expert knowledge of

aircraft design

>>

WHEN THE SLOOP-RIGGEDracing trimaranUSA 17

wonthe33rdAmerica’sCupforOracleTeamUSAin

2010,itsrigidwingsailwas,andremains,thelargest

ever.Withaheightof67.97metres,itwasmorethan

twicethesizeofthewingofaBoeing747.Atleast,

that was the comparison often made.

Seven years on, the new AC class catamarans

that competed for the Auld Mug in June 2017 had

anLOAof15metresandawingsailof23.77metres,

making them the smallest multihulls yet to compete

for the world’s oldest international sporting trophy.

But the aircraft analogy remains apposite,

because the crossover between yacht and

aerodynamic technology and design is ever

increasing, and the potential for both industries

to benefit is big.

ISITABOAT?

ISITAPLANE?

The America’s Cup catamarans spent

asmuchtimeabovethewaterason

it, showing an ever-growing synergy

between yacht and plane technology

and design. Claire Wrathall reports

boatinternational.com

01/2018

AVIATION76