NEWSNew America’s Cup yachtBy Rebecca Strong18/07/2022Save articleExcitement is building across the racing world with the imminent arrival in Auckland of the first new America’s Cup yacht.The AC40’s build will be used in One Design mode for both the Women’s and Youth events along with being a test bed for the works teams.The AC40 under construction at the Emirates Team New Zealand’s yard Photo: Emirates Team New Zealand“We didn’t hold back on the design, we took the IP of Te Rehutai [the Cup winning boat from AC36] and translated it into the best 40-footer we could create,” said Dan Bernasconi, chief designer of Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ).Strict parametersWhilst the boats can be adapted following the Women’s and Youth events there are strict parameters and cost reduction measures such as a maximum of four custom foil wings and four custom flaps.Ten custom jibs and four mainsails are permitted and teams will also be allowed to build a single custom mast in addition to the two-piece supplied as standard.The hull, foil arms, rudders, mechatronics, hydraulics, and programmable logic controllers have all come from ETNZ’s design teams with the foil arms and rudders being created at ETNZ’s build facility in Auckland. The boomless, double-skinned sails have been designed in collaboration with North Sails whilst the two-piece masts have been crafted by Southern Spars in Avondale, Auckland.Down below, the auto-pilot controls the ride height only and can be manipulated, holding the wing at a certain set point below the water. If the teams want to change the pitch angle or trim differently for conditions, then there needs to be manual intervention. The top speed will be 40 knots plus.One big consideration for the AC40 global circuit is its ease of transportation. Each one will be transported on a custom flat rack which can carry the whole boat and all appendages to save on shipping costs and increase transportation efficiencies.

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