Aaron Kuriloff from Bloomberg is one of the good guys in mainstream media and we share with you his interview with Pete Melvin on the new AC changes. What grabs us as interesting: rudder elevators, one-design wings, one-boat campaigns and stored power. …
The catamarans used in the next America’s Cup will shrink about 16 percent and incorporate new safety and cost controls after last year’s regatta claimed the life of a sailor and cost about $100 million a team.
The new boats — which will still sail above the water at highway speeds — will measure about 60 feet, down from the 72-footers used in the last edition of the 162-year-old event, according to Pete Melvin, who is leading a team writing the design rules with Larry Ellison’s defending champions, the Australian challenger and several other contenders. The carbon wing-like sails used to power the yachts will be standardized, crew sizes will drop to about eight from 11 and teams will be restricted to one boat each to control costs, he said.
“We’re taking all the learning and most of the safety rules from the last Cup and folding those into the new rule as well,” said Melvin, a partner at Newport Beach, California-based Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering Inc. “Cost was a major driver and performance and potential innovation were others.” Read on.
