| Le Breton Yachts Newsletter August 2011 |
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Last places available for test sails in Cannes, 7-10 September. The SIG45 will be available for test sails by potential customers during the Cannes International Boat Show. Several slots have already been taken, so if you are interested, be sure to contact us as soon as possible to book some sailing time. There is no better way to appreciate not only the performance of the SIG45, but also the scale of the interior and cockpit, and the remarkably easy handling. |
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SIG45 #2 The construction of SIG45 #2 is continuing apace in California. All of the composite components have been completed, and the assembly of the structure is moving quickly. Westerly‘s experience in building high-end racing boats is showing through in the quality of the composites, and the light weight of the pieces they are building. The boat is being built using male moulds, giving a smooth finish for the painted interior. The time we have invested in the fairing of the core before outer skins are applied has resulted in a smooth outside surface and exceptionally low levels of filler – in most places considerably less than a millimetre. This can be seen in the image below of the main beam fairing. Prior to commencing the build, we worked with HDS to optimise the SIG45‘s structure. Established by Herve Deveau, HDS is one of the top structural engineers in the marine industry. HDS has particular expertise in multihulls, having worked on ORMA60s, Groupama 3 and Banque Populaire 5. The work has identified opportunities for weight saving of over 150kg in the SIG45‘s structure, and confirmed the strength of the existing structure. |
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Fastnet – VPLP designs stand out This year‘s Fastnet saw a spectacular fleet assembled, and VPLP designed boats were dominant The first four boats home were multihulls designed by VPLP. The giant trimaran, Banque Populaire V, established a new course record of just one day, eight hours and 48 minutes. The two brand new VPLP designed MOD70s arrived just four minutes apart, having crossed tacks all the way to the Fastnet Rock and back. In the IMOCA60 monohull class, VPLP designed boats took 1st, 2nd and 4th place. For architects who only built their first IMOCA60 in 2007, VPLP has rapidly emerged as a dominant player in the extremely competitive Open 60 fleet. |
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America’s Cup Cascais just witnessed the first act of the America‘s Cup World Series in catamarans – an exciting new development in sailing. The nine crews battled for a week, with Emirates Team New Zealand taking first place in the final fleet race. Team Artemis knocked Oracle‘s Jamie Spithill, winner of the match racing, into third place. Extremely close racing saw multiple lead changes, tacking duels and telegenic high speed action. The coverage was impressive and will continue to improve. It seems that the naysayers prophecies that racing in multihulls would be dull were unwarranted. In another interesting development, VPLP has been commissioned by the America’s Cup Management organisation to design a generic AC72 catamaran design package. This will allow some of the less well funded teams to accelerate their design trajectory, and facilitate the construction of their AC72s in good time for the 2013 Cup. Kind regards, |
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Le Breton Yachts |