Technology
No problems – no competition
Two-handed racers Jules Hall and Jan Scholten left all of their Sydney Hobart Race rivals trailing and many of them quite literally speechless. The product was pretty good, too...
The 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race was a particularly challenging one with a near gale on the nose, blowing against the current for the first few days, creating a brutal sea state, and a painstaking, tactical drift to the finish. The stand-out result in these challenging conditions was achieved by a two-man crew sailing the smallest boat in the fleet, the J/99 Disko Trooper-Contender Sailcloth. Sailed by Jules Hall and Contender Sailcloth’s director for Australia, Jan Scholten, they not only won the new two-handed division in all three handicap systems – IRC, ORCi and PHS – but if they’d been counted in the fully crewed category, they’d also have won overall in ORCi and come fourth in IRC. How did they do it? The Contender Sailcloth team ensured their sponsorship of this project was not in name only…. While many of their rivals had moulded sails, Hall and Scholten raced with panelled sails, using ZZ (ZigZag) Jet Black Aramid laminates for the jibs and main.
‘On boats of 24ft to 40ft you can get a very accurate 3D shape with tri-radials, and panelled sails can be very efficient with weight,’ Scholten explains. ‘You can see it in one-design
60 SEAHORSE
events. Last September the Melges 24 European Championship in Slovenia was won with panelled sails.’ ZZ Jet Black Aramid laminates are optimised for light weight and durability by balancing adhesive content with fibre loading to the lightest weight possible without sacrificing bond strength. High modulus Twaron 2200 Black fibre is incorporated in the warp and high modulus Technora Black fibre in the fill for low stretch, shape-holding performance with well-proven solvent based thermoset lamination and carbon black pigment for improved UV absorption and durability. The team chose a selection of ZZ Black Aramid laminates rising in yarn density from 6000 to 15000 dpi, with angular support built into the laminate with high modulus Technora Black fibres at 12° off axis. Superkote spinnaker cloth was used for the downwind inventory – a well-proven high tenacity nylon fabric, which is light yet fully optimised for stability, tear resistance and strength. It is polyurethane coated for zero porosity and high water repellency. Their two A-sails and drifter, which proved essential in the final hours of the race, were built from Superkote
Above: in the latest Sydney Hobart Race, Jules Hall and Jan Scholten won the
two-handed division in all three handi- cap systems. And if they’d been scored in the fully crewed category, they’d have won overall in ORCi. Their mainsail and jibs were made from Contender Sailcloth ZZ Black Aramid laminates. Right: angu- lar support is built into the laminate with fibres laid at 12° off axis
60 (A2), Superkote 130 (A4) and Superkote 150 (drifter) rather than a very firm fabric like Powerkote. ‘Beyond Superkote, Powerkote is very stable and crisp, aimed for boats such as the TP52, which always sail with a shy wind angle going downwind,’ Scholten explains. ‘But we are, like most boats, sailing VMG. We can’t afford to hot it up and plane. In a wind range from 10-20kts you’re not going to plane so you need to look for depth. Superkote has a very good porosity factor. The other factor is that Superkote has the right balance between strength in the primary load direction and bias stretch, so it doesn’t require a very aggressive trimming/crewing action.
ROLEX/ANDREA FRANCOLINI
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