 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Radical design sidesteps AC rule
AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- A design innovation on the yacht of America's Cup defenders Team New Zealand could leave its rival trailing in its wake. Team New Zealand's second yacht, NZL 82, has a false appendage hanging under the hull -- one of the more radical designs in the 151 years of the America's Cup. The America's Cup match starts on February 15, 2003, when the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will race Team New Zealand. The remaining Louis Vuitton Cup challengers, particularly Alinghi of Switzerland and Oracle BMW Racing of the U.S., are desperately trying to replicate the idea and at the same time question the legality of the false appendage. The design rule requires the hulls of the America's Cup yachts to be fair, without hollows, creases or bumps that might increase speed. However, two moveable appendages are allowed to be hung from the boat. One, the rudder, is use for steering, while the other, a winged lead bulb keel with a moving trim tab like an aircraft wing flap, is used for stability and lateral resistance. The Team New Zealand designers have realised that the rule does allow further appendages as long as they do not move. After receiving a confidential interpretation from the rules' technical director Ken McAlpine in October 2001, Team New Zealand built their second new boat with a false underbody that is attached to the hull by an appendage. This effectively increases the sailing length of the boat so that it is faster. Team New Zealand have had to test the innovation against its more conventional design, NZL 81, but have gone to enormous lengths to keep their hulls shrouded from view, including keeping a skirt around the boats when they are towed out to sea. The two yachts have been subject to intensive surveillance out on the Hauraki Gulf. At times, tempers have been frayed by what the defenders considered over-zealous efforts by their rivals to uncover their secrets. Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts has said: "There isn't a designer in Auckland who wouldn't say 'that's got to be faster' when they see this development." Coutts said his team had looked at similar ideas over a year ago, but did not believe that McAlpine would agree to them. There was still a question over the legality of the innovation and rules observers feel that the challengers might have a case to bring before the Arbitration Panel. Beyond the precise wording of the class rule there is an all encompassing "spirit of the rule" which would normally require the measurer to question something that was clearly intended to circumvent the rule through a loophole. Team New Zealand has pre-empted the challengers' attempts to copy its ideas by questioning the legality of substitution of boats between the semifinals and the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. (Full story) The rules of the match say that the challenging yacht must be the one that wins the final of the Louis Vuitton Cup. By extending this to include the semifinals it effectively means that the challengers will not be able to incorporate any of the Team New Zealand ideas.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
