The new Baltic 142 DSS is a fully fitted luxury ocean-cruising yacht but you do not have to dig far below the surface to find evidence that its builders are using all their composites expertise to create structures that would not look out of place on a large racing yacht; and among the superyacht fleet that’s how it may yet be seen, the polars topping out at 31.1kt downwind in 30kt and 14.09kt upwind
The resultant rig geometry had twin
masthead runners and lower and upper deflectors which, on the face of it, sounds complex and hardly easy sailing. However, the rig is set up so that with one reef in the main both runners are tensioned and the option to deflect the runner remains, but only the deflector needs to be released prior to a tack or gybe. If absolute minimum (ie racing) sag is
not required, then there is no need to use the deflector and the rig sets up nicely with the twin runners snugged back – meaning that, other than the lower deflector, noth- ing need be touched when tacking with the self-tacker, and only the J1 sheets con- trolled by Rondal captives otherwise. The lower deflector of course presents an obstacle… at least on paper. By running individual cylinders for each
deflector and having a long tail for the lower deflector, there are effectively two modes. For a regatta or day sail, the lower deflector is controlled entirely by the cylinder and the runners move fore and aft from tack to tack as with a conventional yacht. However, when sailing offshore and shorthanded, when one is moving from full main to three reefs and back again and wishes to be able to have both runners set aft and for minimal line movements when tacking or gybing, there is another mode. This brings the lower deflector to the primary winch by the helmsman, so that with a long tail it is a simple process to fully release the lower deflector when tack- ing or gybing in heavy air and reefed. This might seem convoluted, but having
a yacht of this ilk that can comfortably change from full main to third reef and back again, with minimal change or alarm for the crew is, if not unique, then certainly unusual. In reality the system is simple to use, simple to access and for the crew simple
46 SEAHORSE
to manage. An essential part of the brief. Rondal and Carbo-Link were integral in
this process, as well as the additional due diligence from Gurit to ensure it was not a fool’s errand in trying to make the rig per- form as required, but in a way the crew could manage with as little stress as possible.
Sails The larger the yacht the fewer the sails you have to play with and this yacht plans to sail everywhere, so intelligent choices had to be made. A preliminary ‘sea trial’ proposal that
includes passing the three great capes to port focuses the mind and the decision- making process. Working closely with North Sails, once again the client was pre- pared to leave conventional wisdom on the shelf and examine all the options open to him. Unconstrained by rules or regula- tions, various options for flying sails were considered, including a Quad headsail. Readers of this fine periodical will no
doubt be familiar with the recent history of the four-sided wonder sail, but for those who are not, it is along these lines: the Quad was part and parcel of the J-Class fleet both in its original guise and in the millennial revival until more effective methods of sailing upwind on the modern J-Class were proven. However, as an all- round reaching sail, considerable time was spent in the Auckland wind tunnel with Doyle Sails testing Quad sails that Hugh Welbourn had developed with Richard Bouzaid of Doyle and David Le Pelley of the University of Auckland. Results were sufficient to bear further
examination and, cutting a long story short, the ill-fated Team Russia fitted Quad sails to their VO70, developed with North Sails, that outperformed the polars by up to 20 per cent. The outside world saw this as the
last throw of the dice, those who sailed on the boat knew better. IRC in their wisdom banned it, which probably means it’s pretty good, but ORC allowed it and the first two Infiniti 36s used North-built Quad sails to good effect, particularly when neither yacht was built to race (or rate). With beam becoming relatively smaller
as yachts get longer, unless you build an aircraft carrier, the ability to reduce the ‘return’ section, or the draggy bit, of a big reaching sail is very desirable. Coupled with limited roach to ensure a reliable furl, this was something that required consideration. After only mild resistance all parties agreed to examine the option and once the issue of having two sheets to manage was resolved, the decision was made to build a Quad. Coupled with a powerful A3, the entire
3Di-built North package was now com- plete… albeit with the addition of a Cuben J5 for when things get intense.
Systems The flying sails on this yacht are stored below deck on large custom carbon drums. The drums were developed and manufac- tured by Baltic Yachts with input from Future Fibres, Gurit and North. This is the third yacht from Baltic to
feature this breakthrough in superyacht sail handling. The 2.1m-diameter drums are driven by a dedicated hydraulic motor, ensuring that the flying sails are stored and deployed as efficiently as possible. The use of these drums frees up significant storage space below and allows the sails to be stored in a manner that extends their life. All that said, the additional complexity of managing the large furled ‘cables’, and the drum diam- eters that they are able to be stored around, gave the team at Baltic plenty to think about. The moveable cabin-top is a masterpiece of engineering due to the demand of the
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