NEWS REGARDING DSS (DYNAMIC STABILITY SYSTEM)

After the use of the System on Wild Oats the max yacht that won the last Sydney Hobart, contrary to what could be expected, there was not a rush to use the system. My impression is that the system will only work well on small boats on flat water and need by yachts to be able to perform adequately on Ocean conditions. Small boats have just to much pitch to make its use profitable.

For the ones that never heard about it is just a wing that goes perpendicularly to the boat hull, near the surface, on the opposite side of the wind and  that like an airplane wing provides lift creating RM and pushing the boat up, preventing it to heel. Its efficiency increases with speed. Look at this movie and you will understand how it works:

Recently there have been a lot of interest about it, since 15 October, when it was decided that contrary to the masts and keels, the appendices would remain free on the IMOCA class (Open 60's), with the already existent limitation of a maximum of 5 movable ones. There are several teams considering using DSS on their boats and even some interesting designs:

Hugh Welbourn, the system inventor and developer is working with several teams and even if for me the limitation of the 5 foils (two rudders, a keel and two daggerboards) make the utilization of the system complicated, he presents several solutions. Eventually there are two more that it seems not to have been considered: With a narrower boat the utilization of a single deep rudder that would allow an independent DSS system or a movable rudder, from one side of the boat to another, that would make possible the actual beamy configuration and again an independent DSS system.

But what have been studied  by now is a configuration that maintaining the two rudders as they are, modifying the movable foils that assume a double role:  Given grip to the boat upwind and creating lift. The drawing makes sense but the foil could not be completely raised out of the water and, as I see it, will create drag on light wind sailing. I am very curious and hoping any of the new boats will go for that, to see the real system potential and if the advantages will be superior to the disadvantages.

Another disadvantage, that has nothing to do with performance, but will be a practical inconvenient, is the impossibility to put the boat along a quay or pontoon. The boat can not go alongside but stay at some distance, with the foil hitting the quay. It will need some BIG fenders LOL.

Very interesting stuff anyway!
Hugh Welbourn and Dynamic Stability Systems Founder Gordon Kay says about all this:

"Dynamic Stability Systems welcomes this week’s decision by IMOCA to place no further restrictions on its class rule. This permits both the six new IMOCA 60s currently under construction, as well as the existing fleet, to be fitted with the lateral lifting foils which DSS has spent the last decade pioneering. ...

“These foils will allow IMOCA 60s to remain cutting edge as well as providing a performance enhancement every bit as significant as canting keels, which IMOCA pioneered during the 1990s,” ...

..Fitting DSS to a typical IMOCA 60 is complicated by the class rules which restrict boats to a maximum of five movable appendages – typically two rudders, a canting keel and two daggerboards.

The daggerboards are necessary to prevent leeway when the keel is canted, but on recent IMOCA 60s they have had a dual function as by being inclined in the hull is such a way that they are angled (ie off vertical) as they pass through the water, they also produce upwards lift. This lift helps reduce hull drag, but – most significantly – as it does not operate to leeward of the hull, it lacks the same lever arm and, in turn, the massive contribution to righting moment of the DSS foil. So while present generation IMOCA 60 boards make little contribution to righting moment, for their new boats teams have been investigating the use of more efficient L-shaped foils. With these one side of the foil prevents leeway while the other creates vertical lift down to leeward, in turn providing a massive boost to righting moment.

Teams have been looking at principally two configurations for these ‘DSS L-foils’:

a) Tip up: This is similar to a conventional daggerboard only its main shaft is vertical in the water when the boat is heeled, while its tip is effectively a DSS foil, close to horizontal in the water when the boat is heeled, to provide vertical lift.

b) Tip down: This is closer to the standard DSS arrangement where the main shaft of the foil protrudes horizontally through the bottom of the topsides providing vertical lift to leeward, while the downward-pointing tip of the board prevents leeway.

Welbourn, who is currently working with IMOCA teams on evolving this technology, says that while DSS is in the process of being accepted by the Class (just as canting keels were in the 1990s), the first designs to incorporate the DSS L-foils will be ‘middle of the road’ options, still retaining most of the familiar IMOCA 60 features. Thus rather than having the maximum permitted beam of 5.85m, he believes that new DSS L-foil equipped IMOCA 60s will end up closer to 4.8-5.2m....

According to Hugh Welbourn, an IMOCA 60 that relied even more on its DSS foil for righting moment would be an entirely different animal but unlike most innovations could represent further cost savings for the Class. The canting keel – along with all its added weight and complexity – could be dispensed with in favour of a simpler fixed keel and as a result there would be no need for additional daggerboards to prevent leeway as the keel foil could provide this (as it does on most yachts). Windward performance could be enhanced by fitting a trim tab to the keel, which is permitted for fixed keels under the present IMOCA rule. This would also allow conventional, straight lateral DSS foils to be fitted, which would be more efficient as their sole functions would be to provide vertical lift and increase righting moment.

Added reliance on the DSS foil would also result in less need for form stability derived from a beamy hull shape and Welbourn envisages the maximum beam of the ‘Ultimate’ DSS IMOCA 60 could be as small as 4.2m – at present the beam constraint is the shroud base required for the newly introduced one design mast, which has a specified size and weight.

A pure-DSS hull shape would also not require the fat bow that features in many modern offshore race boat designs to prevent nose diving when sailing downwind. “When you start supporting a lot of the boat’s displacement on the foil rather than the hull, what you need is something that penetrates waves very nicely at high speed, not a big fat bow. A slimmer type of boat does that,” states Welbourn.

The end result would weigh approximately 6 tonnes, almost two tonnes less than the present lightest IMOCA 60s. And once again, a substantially narrower and lighter boat, with a fixed, rather than a canting, keel and with straight foils, as opposed to L-shaped ones, can all result in a less expensive boat...

DSS foils or L-foils can also ‘turbo’ the performance of older generation IMOCA 60s. Retrofitting this to an existing boat would cost in the order of £50,000 maintains Welbourn. However this represents good value given that his simulations demonstrate they could take as much as five days off a round the world course compared to the same boat without the new foils.

Welbourn concludes: “Ultimately DSS is a way of producing more sea-kindly and safer boats, which are substantially faster for a negligible increase in cost and potentially with a reduction in cost. Almost all the daggerboards ever fitted to IMOCA 60s provide some degree of vertical lift depending upon their inclination in the boat. DSS foils are simply inclined much more and you get a lot more out of them.”

http://www.infinitiyachts.com/news-2/

WHAT A CRACKING BOAT...UNBELIEVABLE!!! (POGO S3)

Pogo 3 teaser - from Pogostructures on Vimeo.

The words are not mine but from Matthew Sheahan the responsible of Racing coverage and technical editor of Yachting world magazine. Matthew is not a kid or a young guy, like the ones that use to race these boats, but an old racer and he knows one or two things about racing boats: It's experience is huge and he tested and sailed many. Giving this background his enthusiasm by the new Pogo 3 is meaningful. He had never tried a mini racer and the least we can say is that he seems positivelly astonished. I have been pointing out the growing interest of the British regarding solo racers and fast cruisers derived from the solo racing boat concept, well, Matthew is certainly one of those that is discovering and appreciating the concept and making it popular also among British cruisers and racers.

ROUTE DU RHUM THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SAIL RACE?

Certainly not by the number of boats, "only" 91 on this edition but probably the biggest in public interest, even more than the Vendee Globe and there is a reason for that: This was the first Transat that said no to the ratting rules. Here you arrive first and you win. Simple as that. Yes I know they have introduced classes but that is not the same thing as ratting. Anyway that's one of the few races where they depart all at the same time and off course, independently of the classes the overall winner is the one that arrives first, even if the classification comes in classes.

http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014_09_01_archive.html

Le Rhum, cap sur 2014 ! by routedurhum

On the first one, in 1978 there were no classes and it was the first Transat where you could race in a mono-hull or a multihull of any size for the win.  And the win went for a Multihull...but only by 98s after 23 days racing. That was really incredible!!! of course the Monohull was a lot bigger than the trimaran that won, but sizes are free on this race. 

You can pick the fastest mono-hull in a transat, that is certainly the new Comanche, and race it on this race on the class of monohulls bigger than 39ft (minimum size is the only limitation). There is a snag...someone would have to sail the huge Comanche solo :-)...because this is a solo race. Crazy? not more crazy then sailing on of the maxi trimarans solo (and they do it)...if someone has the balls and knowledge to do it and the rigging is adapted. Off course, probably you can count by the fingers of your hands the sailors that have the ability and the potential to do it and that is one of the things that make this race great: The boat counts but only the best have the ability to sail one of these monsters solo. Here the skipper counts more than in any other race. Just look at the size and speed of these boats.They have to be sailed by a solo master and they are all in this race, on different classes.

Yann Eliès sur Paprec Recyclage by routedurhum
Lionel Lemonchois sur Prince de Bretagne by routedurhum
Sodebo Ultim' - Thomas Coville : Objectif Route... by sodebo-voile

For me one of the most interesting boats racing are the Multi 50. They are very tricky boats to race, fast bur nervous and fragile. It's double interesting because in the end, specially if the weather is rough, their performance is very similar to the one of an Open 60. What normally happens is that just one or two manage to go faster on those conditions and it can happen that an Open 60 beats them all. As I say, they are fast but the risk of capsize is big, they are not that good upwind and have to have much more care not to break the boat than the guys on Open60's. Here you have them, being raced with a crew: look even with a crew how nervous these boats are. Really tricky for a solo sailor. To go really fast it has to be a very good one.

Multi50-2014 from Multi50 on Vimeo.
Sailing one of those solo is only for the best:
Actual - Yves Le Blevec by routedurhum
and then we have the well known IMOCA open 60's with all the stars from the Vendee Globe.

and the 40class, that here really looks like a promotional class. No, I know they are incredibly good sailors on those boats...except that they all want to go to one of the big ones and there are a reason why they have not arrive there yet...but the rising stars are all there, some coming from the mini racing. This racing is so interesting that an old legend could not resist to have a go at it.

Route du Rhum : Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, doyen... by OuestFranceFR
He is going to race an old Open6o. Because it is an old one does not race on the IMOCA category but on the category of monohulls bigger than 39ft. Off course the boat is old, but brand new when compared with him: 75 years and still racing with the best!!! Damn, how can he do that? Thumbs up for him ;-)

The race starts November 2 at 14.00 (French Time GT+1)
http://www.routedurhum.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php

MALANGO 888 NEW TEST AND NEW VIDEOS WITH THE MOJITO 888.

I had posted recently about the Mojito 888:
http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/10/mojito-888-voile-magazine-boat-of-year.html
http://interestingsailboats.blogspot.pt/2014/10/on-water-rm-890-versus-mojitomalango.html

After having won the Voile magazine boat of the year contest the interest in the Mojito went up sharply and the boat has been tested by the other main French sailing magazines (Voile and Voiliers and Bateaux) and looking how the boat sailed on both occasions I bet we will continue to hear nice things about the boat. First a video with the boat being tested by Bateaux (very light wind) and then 3 others from the Voile and Voiliers test showing the boat sailing in medium wind in several points of sail:

The interest on the Mojito seems to make revive the interest on the Malango 888, basically the same boat with a different cabin and we have a new test, surprisingly by a British Magazine. It seems that on the last years finally the British, that have a more conservative approach regarding cruising boats, seem to be interested on the light fast and seaworthy cruising boats derived from the Ocean solo racer's hull concept.

The test is from Sailing Today. I did not like other test made by the magazine but this one is made by a new tester and what they say about the boat corresponds to the information I got about it, reading other test sails. It seems a good test to me. They say about the boat:

"The boats are drawn by Breton naval architect Pierre Rolland, who favours a purposeful plumb bow, hard chines and a wide stern. The racing pedigree is immediately obvious, and in fact, the design is derived from a singlehanded mini Transat racer. And yet, the boat’s raison d’etre is to provide a sporty sail for cruising sailors...It’s all about the pleasure of sailing,..

The techniques used to build the Malango are decidedly modern. Vacuum infusion spreads the resin evenly through the layers of fibreglass and honecomb-cell felt for the minimum weight.

..it’s worth noting a key feature of the boat, and one of its chief concessions to cruising: the transom includes a deep 2.1m recess which perfectly accommodates a 2.4m dinghy. Being low to the water, the cut out for this dinghy garage doesn’t intrude on the stern cabin, but forms part of the structure of the stern berth.

.. we scoot upwind at an easy 7 knots, heading some 40° off a true wind of 13 knots. Reaching up and down off the beach at nearby Port-la-Forêt, dodging waterskiers, we settle into a 7.8 knot lope and we hit 9 knots surfing back downwind flying the 75m2 symmetrical spinnaker. Although this is a sporty boat, she’s very well behaved, reluctant to broach (you can really feel the chine digging in aft) and therefore easily handled by one."

The genoa is on a furler and the sheeting point is controlled not by a traveller (keeping the side decks clear), but by the increasingly fashionable light eye on a Dyneema strop – a barber-hauler which can be pulled closer to the centreline or slacked off.

Verdict: At a touch under 30ft, the Malango 8.88 ..she has the heart, soul and the capabilities of a larger cruiser.... Her lithe, sporty lines and muscular performance mark her out from the many gaffer-likes produced in Britain – we simply don’t have an equivalent to the Malango that I’m aware of. She’s fast, but stable and easy to handle, making her good for family cruising or outings with friends. She’s been designed to a firm cruising brief, with the ability to dry out easily on sand – perfect for her native Brittany and with a few modifications – renewables, watermaker, extra electronics – she’d make a capable, but cosy, bluewater cruiser. That’s why she’s able to make a European Category A rating and indeed one of the 11 boats built so far has crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean".

http://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/boats/big-boat-review/melango-88-8-review-test/

They also have made a video of the test:

COMANCHE: FIRST SAILING VIDEO OF WHAT IS SUPPOSEDLY THE FASTEST MONOHULL

I confess that I have mixed feelings about Comanche, the new Maxi designed by Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) and Guillaume Verdier: It looks enormous, not only a big sailboat but a huge sailboat, incredibly beamy and needing a very numerous crew. Anything but elegant to my eyes. I like monohulls but I have to admit that if Comanche is the way to go in what regards race monohulls, I find much more elegant the maxi trimarans, that are even faster.

On the video we can see how fast the boat goes downwind but also how surprisingly wet is and not even on big seas. I would have expected a 100ft racer to be less wet.

I can't wait for the next Sydney Hobart where Comanche will measure forces, in a race that is not predominantly a downwind race, with some of the fastest Maxis. I have no doubt that the Comanche is the fastest monohull downwind, but in what regards racing upwind in nasty seas, I have some doubts. That's why I think the next Sydney Hobart will be so interesting

LIFE 7.5: COMPARED WITH SAPHIER 27 AND SEASCAPE 27

Some years ago when I saw the first designs of the 7.5 (Dieter Blank) I was not very impressed mainly with the transom design that seemed to me too sharp on the transition allowing not enough heel upwind. Well maybe I was right if we consider absolute performance but it will make the boat easier to sail solo or with a short crew and easier to explore by a non expert crew.

Anyway the photos and movies showing the boat sailing through the water gave no doubt: this is a very fast boat and one that will not be only at ease in lakes but also in semi protected waters and that transom works very well limiting heel and don't seem to limit much performance.

The hull is moderate in what regards beam (2.5m) that is like on the Seascape 27.The Saphire 27 with more 0.5m in lenght has the same beam and the Seascape 27 has more 0.4cm. The Life 7.5 has a deep swing keel (0.75/2.00) with a very high B/D ratio (47%). The Seascape 27 with a similar keel has only 42% and it is a very stiff boat.The Life 7.5 should be even stiffer and the sail power: HUGE.

The hull design is closer with the one from  Seascape than with the one from Saphire. Like the Seacape it has all beam pulled back, a swing keel and two rudders. Even considering that the boat is 0.5m shorter the weight is impressive, specially if we consider the superior B/D ratio : only 1000kg while the Saphire has 1300kg and the Seascape 1370kg. 

Regarding sail the Life 7.5 carries upwind 43m2 (Saphier 44m2, Seascape 48m2). A huge sail area on a lighter boat as a result of that impressive stiffness given not only by the hull form stability (that is maximized on this type of hull) and by that impressive B/D ratio, specially in a 25ft boat with 2.00m draft. Even if stiff such a big sail are should imply a great performance in light winds but the need to reef in medium winds.

Slightly smaller the boat shares the Saphire 27 and Seascape 27 program: Daysailing, weekend cruising and regatta program with some offshore capability. Between the three (money considerations apart) I would chose without hesitation the Life 7.5 by a simple reason: Gorgeous boat, beautifully made and with cracking details.

 But that's me, to whom beauty is important, and no doubt the Life 7.5 is a beautiful thing...with a snag. For keeping it beautiful you have to sail it without an engine, even an outboard because contrary to the other two this one has not a dedicated space to put an outboard inside the boat (on a well) and with an outboard stinking outside the Life 7.5 the beauty is gone.

In what regards that aspect the Seascape 27 wins easily since it is the one that can carry the bigger engine and have that way much more flexibility while cruising. That makes it the one that will be able to be at ease in more situations, the one with the wider program. But who says that beautiful things has to be practical? .... love is blind and I just love the Life 7.5 :-)

LIFE 7.5, it's in the details from Peter on Vimeo.

LIFE 75 2012 from Life Yachts Group AB on Vimeo.

MIDDLE SEA RACE: MORE GREAT VIDEOS

The first one and my favorite is taken on the Neo 400 the hottest 40ft performance cruiser in Italy and probably in the world. This one:

 They gave more than 4 hours to the 40ft boat that won the race in compensated, a J122.  On the beginning of the video we can see them, in light wind, going away from a race boat, a 40class one. What a boat!!!

An then we have a great video from Tulip, and aluminium classic 88fter, a German Frers design, a gorgeous boat that is only classic from the water line up. The hull is very modern with a big draft (lifting keel) and a torpedo keel.

 They are showing on that video that the boat can sail fast and comfortably even in a storm. They took more 5 hours than the rocket Neo 400 but even so they managed to sail faster than one of the racing VOR 60 and did not lose much for the others!!! Racing with class :-)

And finally a video taken on a Swan 45 (sistership photo):

They finished the race in 17th place (IRC) but took almost 7 hours more than the Neo 400 and two hours more than the Tulip.