America’s Cup Defender Reveals Boat

ORACLE TEAM USA held an evening ceremony at its team base in Bermuda on February 14 to reveal its new America’s Cup Class boat, “17”, the foiling catamaran the team will race this summer in the 35th America’s Cup.

The new America’s Cup Class boats are foiling, wingsailed catamarans, 15 meters in length and capable of reaching highway speeds approaching 54 knots. In addition, their improved maneuverability should offer intriguing match racing competition.

“We need to get this boat out on the water and put the hours in getting it ready to race,” said skipper Jimmy Spithill, noting the boat will be launched this week. “The long days will continue.”

While many of the major design decisions have been made and have been built in already to the boat, the success of the boat will depend on maximizing its performance.

“The refinement and optimization process never stops,” said Scott Ferguson, the design coordinator for ORACLE TEAM USA. “We know there is still speed to be found between now and May 26 when racing begins in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Qualifiers and that’s our focus for the coming weeks.”

Over 15 designers and 50 boat-builders have contributed to the design and build of “17”, with more than 85,000 man-hours accumulated to date. Team partners like Airbus, BMW, Parker and Yanmar have provided technical expertise and support.

“This is a major milestone in our campaign to win the America’s Cup for a third time,” said Grant Simmer, the chief operating officer of ORACLE TEAM USA.

“These boats are highly-engineered, with complex systems, and built to perform under extreme conditions. It’s a great achievement by our designers, builders and engineers to get us to this point where the race yacht gets handed over to the sailors.”

Photos by BMW|Carlo Borlenghi:

 
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.

Source: Peter Rusch