World cruisers, cruiser-racers, really? Well ,you’d certainly expect so from this typical Gunboat interior (inset) with its inside forward helming station. But with a bit of added grunt and a crew able to fully employ all the considerable righting moment, these boats now come alive in surprisingly little breeze. The latest Gunboat 57 VaiVai (left) is all carbon-epoxy with lots of titanium hardware, while the Gunboat 62 Elvis (above) has been heavily turboed including deeper foils and a much bigger sailplan with a large fat-head main
overlapping jib, flown off the mid-point of the sprit and supported by masthead hydraulic running backstays. Also added were long asym- metric curved C-boards and T-rudders. Even in fully loaded Transpac mode this is a machine that can fly a hull in approximately 10kt TWS… Now that we have racer-cruisers that can hull fly – ie capsize – in less than whitecap conditions, it’s getting serious. Hull flying is fun and safe on a boat with a well-designed deckplan and steering station, which allow the helmsman fingertip control and the crew instant release of sheets. Good visibility and contact with the apparent wind are also essential.
A number of our existing MM-designed Gunboat 62/66s with forward cockpit steering are quietly adding tillers aft for just this reason. And our latest HH Catamaran designs are offered with different helm configurations for these same reasons. And while boats like Elvishave had the good fortune of developing a core crew who have had time to adapt, and learn to control this incremental increase in power, it is not a situation that one sees with crews who are new to this level of performance.
So in discussions with owners, boat captains and crews, I’ve
now begun to share my concern that we have reached a point where we need to start putting a cap on this arms race. What I am recommending is the development of a rating system that effectively handicaps and limits the race for ever higher per- formance with boats that were conceived as dual-purpose, using the current hull fly speeds of the GB62 Elvisor the GB66 Extreme H2Oas examples of possible benchmarks. I also sailed Extreme H2Owith its conventional self-tacking jib in race trim and we started to fly a hull in just 12kt TWS.
Most coastal and day-racing currently takes place using a variety of handicap systems administered by local organisers. These sys- tems vary in complexity and application. Creating an internationally supported system for this style of boat would go a long way to allow- ing multihulls of varied manufacture and design to compete fairly. With the huge input of brains and money into the last two America’s Cups, multihulls of all types are benefitting from sub- stantially improved Velocity Prediction Programs (VPP). By utilising these improved VPPs designers can now accurately predict boat speeds based upon measurement of sails, boards, rudders, hull and weight, allowing relatively fair handicaps to be created. No single handicap system will ever be perfect. Boats all react differently to different wind spectrums and sea conditions. However,
if we can develop a handicap system that begins to cap today’s arms race, and gives us relatively fair and transparent ratings, I think that we will quickly start to see greater multihull participation in existing regattas as well as the acceptance of multihulls in those classic races such as the Newport Bermuda and Sydney Hobart races from which they remain excluded.
But change flows both ways and to get this greater inclusion we also require the help of the broader multihull community to establish safe parameters and validate any new system in order to promote multihull participation without introducing undue risk. There are organisations like the Sailing Yacht Research Foun- dation that have already reached out to the multihull community – largely at the prompting of more active board members like Stan Honey and Steve Benjamin. SYRF might be a good choice for a non- partisan organisation to spearhead this effort. Owners, designers and builders can all contribute and leverage SYRF’s pre-existing database of aero and hydro research to help with the development of a professionally supported multihull handicap rule. In addition to the possible involvement of SYRF one of the big cat builders recently began exploratory discussions with the IRC rating system managers at the RORC in Europe. The America’s Cup has brought much attention to multihulls. We now have a great opportunity to harness the growing energy and interest in large multihull racer-cruisers to create a unifying handicap system that will bring some sanity to what otherwise threatens to become a situation best described as uncontrolled technical devel- opment… accompanied by an escalation in risk and cost followed inevitably by negative press.
I think this is an idea whose time has come. An idea that will benefit the current crop of owners and protect their investments, will encourage new owners by presenting a manageable, level playing field and will be good for the multihull community in general. We at Morrelli Melvin stand ready to donate our time and database to an effort of this sort and invite other designers, equipment suppliers, sailmakers, mast and boatbuilders to contribute as well. Individual owners, skippers and crews will also add a great deal to this initiative, in particular helping to identify what is desirable in each area of necessary compromise between the benefits to individuals and to the broader multihull community. Let’s work together to make this happen. Gino Morrelli, Newport Beach
q SEAHORSE 55
TIM WRIGHT
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