AC75 explained

Appendages:topside-mounted ballasted canting T-wing foils
Ballast:set in foils
Beam:50NaN0
Construction:carbonfiber
Crew:11 + 1 optional guest
Displacement:6450kg (14,220lb) lightship
7600kg (16,800lb) loaded
Draft:50NaN0
Jib:90m2
Loa:22.860NaN0
Loh:20.70NaN0
Mainsail:145m2
Mastheight:26.50NaN0
AC75
No Built:8 launched
Rig:bermuda sloop
Role:inshore racing
Rudder Type:centerline T-wing rudder
Sails:two semi-battened mainsail skins, one headsail skin
Spinnaker:N/A
Type:Foiling Monohull
Year:2017 –

The AC75 (America's Cup 75) is a racing yacht used in the 2021 America's Cup match and planned to be used for the 37th America's Cup and 38th America's Cup matches. The monohulls feature wing-like sailing hydrofoils mounted under the hull, a soft wingsail,[1] and no keel.

The rule

Following the 2017 America's Cup, winners Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron accepted a notice of challenge from Circolo della Vela Sicilia stipulating a monohull would be used in 2021. Conceptual graphics of a monohull with soft sails and topside canting hydrofoils were released on 21 November 2017, and the first draft of the class rule was published by the defender and the challenger of record on 29 March 2018. The return to monohulls with soft sails after three America's Cups on multihulls with wingsails is reminiscent of earlier America's Cup classes and seaworthy traditions, but the rule included hydrofoils to attract high performance crews and large TV audiences.

Under the protocol, each competing club could build two yachts, but two-boat testing was excluded except during the PRADA Christmas Cup on 17–20 December 2020, and for the defenders during the PRADA Cup 15 January – 22 February 2021. To reduce design and testing costs of the class unique class features, the rule specified foil controlling systems all manufactured by defender team and foil arms all manufactured by the Challenger of Record's builder Persico Marine.

List of AC75 yachts

SyndicateNameShipyardLaunched Competitive historyCurrentNotes
Emirates Team New ZealandTe AiheETNZAuckland, 6 September 2019Trial boat (never raced) Sold to Alinghi as a training boat for AC37[2]
American MagicDefiantAmerican MagicNewport, RI, 14 September 2019Trial boat (never raced)
Luna Rossa Prada PirelliLuna RossaPersico MarineCagliari, 2 October 2019Trial boat (never raced)
INEOS Team UKBritanniaCarrington BoatsPortsmouth, 4 October 2019Trial boat (never raced)
American MagicPatriotAmerican MagicAuckland, 16 October 2020Raced in the 2021 Prada CupUsed as training boat for AC37. De-commissioned in February 2023
INEOS Team UKBritanniaCarrington BoatsAuckland, 17 October 2020Raced in the 2021 Prada Cup
Luna Rossa Prada PirelliLuna RossaPersico MarineAuckland, 20 October 2020Winner of the 2021 Prada Cup
Lost the 2021 America's Cup to Emirates Team New Zealand (7-3)
Emirates Team New ZealandTe RehutaiETNZAuckland, 18 November 2020Winner of the 2021 America's Cup
Emirates Team New ZealandTaihoroETNZAuckland, 11 April 2024For 2024 America's Cup defense[3] [4]
Luna Rossa Prada PirelliLuna RossaPersico MarineCagliari, 13 April 2024For 2024 America's Cup challenge[5]
Alinghi Red Bull RacingBoatOneARBRBarcelona, 16 April 2024For 2024 America's Cup challenge[6]
INEOS BritanniaBritanniaCarrington BoatsBarcelona, 1 May 2024For 2024 America's Cup challenge[7]
American MagicPatriotAmerican MagicBarcelona, 7 May 2024For 2024 America's Cup challenge[8]
Orient Express TeamOrient ExpressMultiplastBarcelona, 29 May 2024For 2024 America's Cup challenge[9] [10]

The visible differences between designs have been commented by most of the yachtbuilding community and the specialized press as each of the boats were launched.

Speeds

Potential speed of was claimed based on computer simulations.[11]

Notable high speeds actually recorded in racing were:

Controversy

Following the release of the canting hydrofoil design in 2017, Brazilian shipwright Manoel Chaves contacted ETNZ to inform them that he held a patent for the proposed design. Team New Zealand apparently ignored correspondence from Chaves' patent attorneys for over two years before simply dismissing the allegations. ETNZ defended themselves with the statement "every good idea has 1000 fathers".

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Sails of the America's Cup. Sailing World.
  2. Web site: World . Yachting . 2022-08-09 . America’s Cup: Alinghi Red Bull Racing launch their AC75 . 2024-01-07 . Yachting World . en-US.
  3. Web site: 2024-04-11 . Emirates Team New Zealand's New AC75 Race Boat Revealed. 2024-04-17 . emirates-team-new-zealand.americascup.com . en-NZ.
  4. Web site: 2024-04-18 . Ngti Whtua Rkei Name and Bless Taihoro, Emirates Team New Zealand's Boat to Defend the 37th America's Cup. 2024-04-19 . emirates-team-new-zealand.americascup.com . en-NZ.
  5. Web site: Cup . America's . THE SILVER AGE: LUNA ROSSA PRADA PIRELLI LAUNCHES ITS AC75 . 2024-04-15 . www.lunarossachallenge.com . en.
  6. Web site: BoatOne presented! On milestone day, teamwork takes center stage . 2024-04-17 . alinghiredbullracing.americascup.com/ . en.
  7. Web site: 2024-05-01 . Momentous day for INEOS Britannia as AC75 sets sail for first time . 2024-05-07 . www.ineos.com . en.
  8. Web site: American Magic's Boat 3 Arrives in Barcelona . 2024-04-12 . www.americanmagic.americascup.com.
  9. Web site: Tip and Shaft . 2023-02-03 . AC37 – Orient Express Team’s AC75 construction expected to begin in May . 2024-01-07 . en-GB.
  10. Web site: 2024-05-30 . "We are dreamers, we are doers" - France's "Orient Express" christened . 2024-08-21 . en-GB.
  11. Web site: American Magic shines as racing begins. https://web.archive.org/web/20200115132701/https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/sport/other/fast-can-team-new-zealands-ac75-go-grant-dalton-explains-boats-design. 17 December 2020. Scuttlebutt Sailing News. 15 January 2020. 27 December 2020. live.
  12. Web site: How fast can Team New Zealand's AC75 go? Grant Dalton explains the new boat's design. https://web.archive.org/web/20201227155207/https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2020/12/17/american-magic-shines-as-racing-begins/. 5 September 2019. TVNZ. 27 December 2020. 3 November 2020. live.
  13. Web site: Prada Cup Semi-Final Day 1. https://web.archive.org/web/20210129041528/https://www.americascup.com/en/news/1019_PRADA-CUP-SEMI-FINAL-DAY-1. 29 January 2021. America′s Cup. 29 January 2021. 29 January 2021. live.