From the very beginning, it was clear, that we have to rethink the boat for the soft rig, including the structure of the platform.
The new rig has different loads when it was used with the wing ( mainsheet on the aft crossbeam, bigger surface, etc).
To find out if the boat can survive these loads, we made a structural analysis. A really good guy, Brett helped me who was working with Artemis racing so quite familiar with the boat.
I was working on the loads which came from the aero side, from the sails, mast, sheets, etc and made the 3d model of the boat. He made the FEA (Finite Element Analysis) analysis how these loads will affect the platform itself.
The results help to decide where we have to change the platform, where we need extra reinforcements, modifications.
Also last weekend we came out from the virtual world and started to assemble the boat, examine all the parts if they match with the info we have. We also have stepped the mast, started to work on the mainsheet system, all the sheets, All the blocks, travelers.
Now the modifications start, Isti from Bali Racing and his team will make them. It will take several weeks to finish.
Developing this – I can say- basically a new boat is a pretty multidisciplinary effort. Excellence is required from different fields, from the design process up to the last ropes splicing. The boat is pretty complex and the modifications need to be designed and built within a short period. We want to build something, that is faster than the others, but the sailing team wants an easy handling boat. The collaboration between the design team, the boatbuilder and the crew is essential since we are on a tight schedule.
I am ready with the sail designs as well, now the special 1D TPT (thin ply technology) membranes are under production.
The next post will be about the sails.