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Kevlar protects sailors

SEB damaged her bow in a collision with Illbruck

LONDON, England -- To ensure the safety of sailors during the Volvo Ocean Race, race organizers regulate everything from equipment, to power requirements to the boat's material.

According to the race's official Web site, one of the greatest dangers facing the boats is the chance of a collision, usually with a submerged object such as an iceberg or a growler. For this reason all the boats are built from Kevlar rather than state-of-the-art carbon fibre.

Race Equipment Manager for the Volvo Ocean Race, Andy Hindley, is quoted on the race's official Web site as saying Kevlar has good impact resistance, even though it is hard to keep it stiff.

The boats are also required to be built to a minimum set of standards laid down in the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Guide for Building and Classing Offshore Racing Yachts 1994.

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One of the ABS rules governs the number of bulkheads the fleet must be fitted with. On an ocean race boat, bulkheads play a dual function - maintaining the rigidity of the hull and deck structure and creating watertight compartments throughout the boat.

Bulkheads are also designed to maintain the watertight integrity of the hull in the event of a collision.

To achieve this, the boats are divided into four watertight compartments divided by three bulkheads. They are also fitted with a crash bulkhead.

The Web site explains: "When Volvo Ocean 60s are built the bottom portion of their bow is chopped off at an angle. This corner is then covered by a flat panel made of Kevlar and foam. It is then built up with layers of high-density block foam and sculpted into the required shape.

"This creates a 'sacrificial bow.' In theory this can bang into flotsam or even withstand a more serious collision without damaging the primary structure of the boat."

Hindley said the crash bulkhead is designed not to give way in the event of a collision and plays little structural role.

The race organizers also require and regulate life jackets, life rafts, flares and the power requirements for satellite communications equipment.