Design
With nailbiting anticipation
... is no overstatement when it comes to awaiting the arrival in Europe for sea trials of the first DSS-equipped – unarguably dramatic and beautiful – Infiniti 52 which was recently completed at Composite Builders in Michigan
The first Infiniti 52 is about to sea trial in the UK before heading south through Biscay in November as part of its training programme and its first race in January 2022, the RORC Trans-Atlantic Race. Joint developer of the DSS patent and founder of Infiniti Yachts, Gordon Kay talks us through the gestation of the genre- defining project.
The boat will have to be trucked from Composite Builders in Holland, Michigan to Baltimore and then shipped to Southampton, where the team at Racetec Rigging will carry out the final fit-out and commissioning in conjunction with Infiniti Yachts. There is always a level of
trepidation when the light appears at the end of the tunnel; the possibility that it is an oncoming train is never far from one’s thoughts. Fortunately, emerging from the tunnel is a build that, in spite of an awkward global
68 SEAHORSE
situation regarding supply chains, has hit all the targets it set out to achieve. It took a little longer, cost a little more and redefined and refined itself but it has so far nailed all the goals we set for ourselves at the outset. So, what did we learn? Avoiding the social lessons and impact of Covid, and focusing on the technical we can be clear on a few things. First, the development of a 3D model incorporating all the structural elements and systems in the boat is an enormous undertaking. Every cable, every penetration, every fastening (378 in case you are wondering and all titanium) every element of the boat is part of the model which was tirelessly managed by Mark Saunders. Herding all the cats and ensuring that the builder could reliably trust in all the information supplied was key. The closeness of the as-built boat
Above: the first of three Infiniti 52 hulls built by Composite Builders in Holland, Michigan comes out of the shed with its bright orange DSS foil standing proud. In addition to the foil and ballast keel, it also has plenty of
water ballast
to the model is impressive to say the least and makes working with the suppliers and partners far more straightforward.
NZ Rigging shipped the first three Infiniti 52 rigs together to avoid the problems of an erratic shipping world, the idea being that it was better that one rig was late than three. Unwrapping them and then stepping the first rig was a combination present of Christmas and birthday; the rigs are impeccably detailed and finished with smart thinking from top to bottom. They were exactly to target weight and VCG and the commitment shown by Richard “Bart” Bearda, flying from New Zealand to do the rig assembly and stepping was just the reason we chose NZ Rigging as a partner for this project. Not everyone will be aware just how hard it is to fly in and out of New Zealand, with the
QUIN BISSET
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