• About
  • America’s Cup Guide
    • AC Guide & Calendar
    • America’s Cup World Series – Race Results & Standings
    • Teams – America’s Cup 2017
    • Rules – America’s Cup 2017
    • old AC Guide & Calendar
  • News
  • Videos
  • Search

Cup Experience

Many America's Cup fans say this is their best source of information.

  • About
  • America’s Cup Guide
    • AC Guide & Calendar
    • America’s Cup World Series – Race Results & Standings
    • Teams – America’s Cup 2017
    • Rules – America’s Cup 2017
    • old AC Guide & Calendar
  • News
  • Videos
  • Search

March 5, 2014 By Jack Griffin

More ideas for the America’s Cup design rule

The Class Rule for the next America’s Cup yachts is due out this month – March 2014 

 

While we are waiting for the rule to be announced, we have heard some ideas that have been floated for  the Class Rule:

From Russell Coutts, CEO Oracle Team USA

  • An overriding theme is an effort to reduce costs and increase media exposure, so that teams can provide a better return to their sponsors for significantly less money than was required last time.

From Pete Melvin, of Morelli & Melvin, leading the rule-writing process

  • Confirmed the concept of foiling, wingsail catamaran
  • Include safety considerations
  • Reduce the cost of the entire campaign, meaning…
  • Fewer sailors
  • Fewer personnel involved in design and logistics
  • Reduced construction cost
  • Write the rule so it is easier to measure the boats and to administer
  • Parts of the wing could be one design
  • Make things one design if they absorb lots of design resource for little performance gain

From Nathan Outteridge, helmsman, Artemis Racing

  • Make the wing small enough so that the gennaker is needed for downwind foiling – show the sailors hoisting, gybing and dropping sails. The sailors should be seen doing more than grinding.
  • Have a real job for the bowman.
  • Allow adjustable elevators on rudders for safety and to enable upwind foiling.

From Paul Bieker of Oracle Team USA

  • We want to foil upwind in 12 knots of breeze and downwind in 8 knots.

From Tom Slingsby, Oracle Team USA strategist

  • It has to be sailed in the most high performance, most spectacular boats, and foiling is the only way to do that properly.
  • You don’t want any computer automated devices. You don’t want to make foiling easy.
  • The load on the mainsheet for a soft sail would be so much higher than with a wing – the wingsail is definitely the way to go.
  • About
  • America’s Cup Guide
  • News
  • Videos
  • Search

Copyright © 2023 Cup Experience