Design
Hound: Improving a classic
When the owner of Hound, a 59ft Aage Nielsen sloop built by Abeking & Rasmussen in 1970, came to Moore Bros for a new carbon mast less than a year before the 2022 Bermuda Race, no one expected what Oliver Moore calls “a pretty cool classic boat” to win her class – thanks in part to the composite bowsprit, rudder, rig and boom that were soon added to the original order. The mast was designed, built and
stepped in less than six months, giving the crew enough time for extensive sea trials before the race. And that new bowsprit supported the A-sails so critical to a Bermuda victory. ‘We worked from 3D scans of the whole boat and designed a centreline sprit that fit in with her lines,’ Moore says. ‘The bowsprit splits around the forestay and two tack lines run aft.’ One reason for the success was that
Moore Bros were included in the in-depth discussions about the owner’s overall goals from the very start of the project. ‘He wanted to breathe new life into the boat and revitalise her,’ Sam Moore says before adding with a chuckle: ‘we got a call from the boat captain after the race, saying that the boat felt completely different; “now she just keeps surging!” That means she’s actually going forward, not just tipping over.’ The owner was so pleased, he’s also
ordered a cruising sprit with a bow roller to hold an anchor. ‘We had templates based on the 3D scans for the racing bowsprit, but we needed to go “real world” on this one,’ Oliver Moore says. ‘We had to go down to the boat to figure out how to make the anchor fit into such a tight space.’ Yet another example of the Moore Brothers get-it-done attitude, which has helped increase both their work force and name-recognition so dramatically in the past two years.
86 SEAHORSE
Regent's technical demonstrator is a quarter scale seaglider prototype currently undergoing testing on the Narragansett Bay. The model’s wingspan is 18-feet (5.48 Metres) with an all-up weight of 375lbs (170kg)
regulatory hurdles than the electric planes other companies are developing. ‘The FAA requires you to carry 30 minutes reserve fuel in the daytime and 45 at night, so you can always make it to an airport, which, when we are talking about short distance flights and batteries, is a major weight penalty. Because this is a boat and it can always land on the water, the Coast Guard doesn’t have those requirements.’ There are plenty of wild ideas on the
leading edge of any industry, Moore admits, but he believes Regent has a great shot at success. ‘The seaglider is differentiated. It uses existing technology and has demonstrated customer demand – it makes sense.’ Design for the first full-sized seaglider is well under way and the build is scheduled for 2023. Regent is tracking to a 2025 vehicle delivery. And of course,
sailing’s top engineers always enjoy being stretched. As Baker says: ‘This project is a ton of fun. Working with Moore Brothers has been crucial in the rapid development of our 18ft technology demonstrator. In nine months we went from blank sheet to the vehicle hitting 38kts foiling. We are leveraging both aerospace and maritime knowhow to push electric propulsion technologies. I've been fortunate to work with super-talented people in both these worlds in the AC and on eVTOL projects (eVTOL - Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Plane). The seaglider is a super- cool marriage of these technologies.
‘Sailing’s top engineers always enjoy being stretched’
get-it-done attitude. ‘When they started with us,’ Moore says, ‘they had the general concept reasonably sorted but it was a blank sheet of paper on how we were going to build it. We dived in and helped them design around available materials and with processes that matched our capabilities. It was an ambitious undertaking but we developed a very strong working relationship to the point that their lead engineer had his own office in our building. Once we had the parts built we transitioned into helping to support their integration testing operations. It didn’t matter what the problem was. Brake lines on the trailer? We’ve got a local trailer guy. Space on the waterfront for testing? We connected them with Halsey Herreshoff and got them up and running here in Bristol. In our world we are used to the idea that there is a date for the first race and it is going to happen whether you are there or not. Schedule creep isn’t
an option and we brought that same mindset to the Regent build. They figured out early on that we were going to do whatever it took, so now they lean on us for a lot. It's been a big challenge, but also a really fun partnership.’ As Regent is designing the full-scale
Making it happen Regent originally sought out Moore Bros for their composite expertise, but they’ve also come to appreciate the company’s
vehicle, Moore Brothers built a full-sized test wing that has working flaps and is covered with pressure sensors to validate their CFD work. ‘It's a constant R&D project,’ says Jacques Swart, head of sales for Moore Brothers. ‘As soon as Regent comes up with something new, we get it built so they can continue with their testing. The synergy with the team to provide what they need, within their time frame is pretty big.’
Picking up personnel In order to keep up with the Regent
ONNE VAN DER WAL
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