Design
Even in initial trials the sailplan was working well at impressively low apparent wind angles
the absolute performance potential when sailing upwind, but early indications suggest the boat is well balanced and easy to shift gears to suit changing wind speeds and sea states. As we cracked off to around 70 degrees TWA, the genoa staysail (which also doubles as the storm jib when rules require) was hoisted and fitted very nicely inside the J2 – itself now sheeted from a deck padeye midway between the coachroof edge and the rail. The ability to efficiently set the genoa staysail inside the J2 at narrow angles was
An enormous amount of combined righting moment is delivered by the DSS foil and water ballast tanks
really important to me because the boat balance and sailplan efficiency improves greatly with this setup, so to see it working at apparent wind angles inside 30 degrees certainly justified the extra design effort we put into this area.
Downwind potential A quick look at the A2 and spinnaker staysail in the fading light confirmed that the Infiniti 52 has the potential for some impressive downwind performance. The beauty of the overall concept means that
the boat’s performance at wider angles in lighter air should be very competitive with an easily driven, narrow waterline, lower drag hull. The mast position and long bowsprit mean extra sail area in the form of staysails can efficiently fill the slot, adding the always desired extra drive force for underpowered sailing conditions. When the need for extra righting moment emerges with increasing windspeed, then the DSS foil provides this, enabling the boat to maintain low heel angles for maximum efficiency of the sail plan and appendages. Obviously very early days still, but by with my “seat-of-the-pants” feeling, I could notice the positive effects of the foil kicking in at boat speeds as low as 12kts. This is hugely encouraging in terms of the overall performance potential across the range of conditions. Day three was definitely the most
productive and with a forecast of up to 30kts early and slowly easing, it was perfect to get a lot done. We started the day with a single reef in the main and J3 headsail, cruising out of the channel from our Gosport base. I have to say, I think it caught everyone by surprise when casually sheeting on as we rounded one of the channel markers, the boat, which was just cruising at 12-13kts dramatically accelerated to around 17-18kts and the spray started flying. Just to recap – without a staysail (or two) and overly attentive trimming, the speed jumped around five knots as the foil very quickly contributed significantly to the righting
80 SEAHORSE
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 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
