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14.03.2016
Oracle's Test Boat Evolution
Oracle Team USA launched their first test boat over a year ago in San Francisco. The first test boat had only one pedestal per hull since it was designed when the AC62 Class Rule was still in effect. Remember that the AC62 was to have had eight crew with three pedestals per hull.
When Oracle arrived in Bermuda in May 2015, the test boat still had only one pedestal. The wing trimmer was in a separate cockpit and the pushbutton control panels were on the inboard side of the cockpits, as shown in the photo below. Remember that these test boats will never race, do not need to meet any measurement rule and have no restrictions on batteries or other stored energy to operate the hydraulic pumps.
By late Fall 2015, Oracle had launched their second test boat and modified the first one. They added a second pedestal and reconfigured the cockpits. They also moved the pushbutton controls to the outboard edge of the cockpit. Two other details to note are the new wing winch design by Harken and a hydraulic ram for daggerboard cant, external to the hull. More on this below.
External daggerboard rams
Both Oracle and Land Rover BAR added external rams to their test boats after initial testing. Some people have speculated that they found they needed more leverage, given the loads on the daggerboard bearings. Artemis Racing has built two test boats and both of them manage daggerboard rake without an external ram - clearly a better solution for windage.
Land Rover BAR "T2" on launch day - daggerboard cant ram is inside the hull.
Land Rover BAR "T2" when it relaunched in December. Notice the external ram.
Artemis Racing's second "Turbo" boat in Bermuda. The daggerboard rake ram is inside the hull.
Spy vs Spy
Although teams have agreed to keep "a respectable distance" away when taking reconnaissance photos, the rules do not limit how close the teams can approach each other. Still, no one likes to have other teams' photographers around. In the photo below, SoftBank Team Japan points their telephoto lens at Artemis's Turbo 2 at the Artemis base.
Land Rover BAR photos courtesy of the team.
Artemis Racing images from CNN's Mainsail program. See Shirley Robertson's interview of Iain Percy here.
Franck Cammas Back on the Water
Thanks to gritty determination, extensive physical therapy and a custom carbon fiber ankle brace, Franck Cammas got back on his AC45F in Oman in the week after the America's Cup World Series. The gentle conditions were perfect for Franck's first days on the water in three months. He still cannot jump around the boat, but it's great to see him making a strong recovery after almost losing his foot when he went overboard while training in late November and was hit by the rudder wing.
See the Groupama Team France video report from Oman here.
Reader Questions to "Ask Jack"
Ask me anything about the America's Cup! I don't claim to know all the answers, but I usually can find someone with the information.
Just reply to this email, or use the "Ask Jack" page on my website.
Jevon & Sue: Is that an umpire on the back of the race boats in the America's Cup World Series?
Jack: No, that's a "Guest Racer." Unless the conditions are unsafe, each team carries a guest racer - typically a sponsor's VIP guest, but sometimes a member of the team. The guest racer is not permitted to talk to the crew or to help in any way.
Chris: Why don't they do more laps? Wouldn't that give more chances for passing?
Jack: The number of laps depends on the wind strength and the size of the race area. In Gothenburg the race course was very short so the teams did do multiple laps. In Oman they had three races each day, all timed to fit the TV broadcast window. The teams prefer to have more races, so expect to see three per day from now on.
Thanks for your questions. Keep 'em coming!
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