Airborne (and accessible)
There is a major international foiling cat series out there designed for both pro and
owner-driver teams where you can take on America’s Cup skippers (but without spending America’s Cup money...)
GC32 – grand prix foiling cat racing Driven on by the last three America’s Cups, development in sail boat design has taken some of its biggest steps forward over the past decade. Leading the charge have been foiling multihulls where America’s Cup technology, to make these boats fly, has now filtered down to the mainstream. Back in 2013 the GC32 cat was born
with the aim of bringing state-of-the-art America’s Cup-style foiling catamaran rac- ing to regular racing sailors. The boat was conceived by Laurent Lenne and Australian catamaran specialist Andrew McPherson and designed by Martin Fischer who is cur- rently design co-ordinator for Luna Rossa. It was fitted with the latest foiling tech-
nology, but being free from America’s Cup rules enabled it to be a ‘better foiler’, as Fischer describes it. For example, the J-shaped foils and T-rudders are large for the boat’s size, but this enables greater stability in flight. This aspect of the design
48 SEAHORSE
was important as it not only made the boat relatively easier for amateurs as well as professionals to helm, but meant that the foils required less trimming with no need for the complex (and heavy) hydraulics that were essential on the AC45s and 50s. On the GC32 the foils can be raised and
lowered manually and foil rake is adjusted quickly but precisely using a simple rope- operated worm drive. Early dockside buzz that ‘the large foils
will make her slow’ was quickly silenced when GC32s started recording speeds approaching 40kt – for sure not the near- cavitation-inducing 50kt of an AC50/F50, but still exceptional for a 32-footer. The GC32 will foil off the wind in 6-7kt of wind and upwind in 20kt+. Where the GC32 scored highly then, and
still does, is in achieving all this through simplicity. Given the access to complex America’s Cup technology it would have been easy for the class to get drawn into making the boat more complex, but in doing so increasing cost and weight, as well as needing more manpower and time for assembly and disassembly at each event. A welcome side-effect of avoiding this is
that the GC32 is a boat where sailing skills dictate results more than technology and development. As Oman Air skipper and former match racing world champion Adam Minoprio explains: ‘No hydraulics means the GC32 is actually a sailing boat.
‘The crew have to be working together
and have physicality. It isn’t just grinding and pushing buttons. With these boats everyone onboard is sailing and it is really good fun. But everyone needs to work in sync to make the boat go fast.’ For example, the GC32 doesn’t have a
wing. This would have increased perfor- mance and made foiling gybes easier, but its traditional catamaran soft sail rig with just four sails – main, two jibs and a gen- naker – is cheaper, more reliable, easier for teams new to the GC32 to adjust to, allows sails to be dropped and the boat to be moored alongside after racing. The GC32 can be transported around in its own con- tainer or by road trailer and be assembled in just one day by two people. It can even be done without a crane if necessary. Emirates Team New Zealand skipper
Glenn Ashby, who sailed on Team Tilt when it won the worlds in 2018, and was runner-up this year, appreciates the sim- plicity. ‘It is great. This boat really fits a purpose. Everything is manually operated. There are no electronics or hydraulics or batteries to go wrong. For teams that are new to foiling it is a fantastic boat. ‘The AC teams like them because appar-
ent wind angles are similar and the closing speeds are very high, while the decision making and the communication processes you have to go through are more similar than they would be on, say, a TP52.’
JESUS RENEDO
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110
