America’s Cup: Powered by Humans

Six sailors will crew on the 15 meter America’s Cup Class boat that will be used in the 35th America’s Cup. While exact roles will vary from team to team, there are essentially only three positions: helm, wing trimmer, and grinder.

Nothing is powered by battery on the ACC. All the functions on the boat are driven by hydraulics which are powered by the grinders. The four grinders on these boats become a human engine, so the more powerful those guys can get, the more power that goes into the boat to make it go fast.

British challenger Land Rover BAR describes the process in which they are developing their human engines…

Video published on Jan 31, 2017.

Background: The 35th American’s Cup has attracted six teams (5 challengers and 1 defender) that will compete in the new 15-meter AC Class, with a series of qualifiers beginning on May 26, 2017 that lead to the start of the America’s Cup Match on June 17, 2017. Complete schedule.