Sailrocket to be displayed at AES
13 Oct 2015
‘Sailrocket 2’ broke the outright sailing record three times back in 2012
EVENT: The record-breaking ‘Sailrocket 2’ is to be displayed at this year’s Advanced Engineering Show (AES), taking place on 4 and 5 November at the NEC, Birmingham.
‘Sailrocket 2’ broke the outright sailing record three times back in 2012 after reaching over 65 knots (75+ mph) in Walvis Bay, Namibia. It also smashed the nautical mile world record.
The boat, which was designed with the aim of breaking through sailings “sound barrier”, is based on a unique concept that removes all the overturning forces associated with sailing boats and is as stable in the air as it is in the water.
With conventional hydro foils, at speeds around the low to mid 50 knot range, the pressures involved cause water boil on contact, offering a brick wall of drag. Sailrocket 2 was developed to have the power to test radical new foil shapes to overcome this and prove that sail-powered boats could go way beyond conventional limits.
The boat was built in the UK by Gurit, which provided composite materials, Formaplex, which provided tooling and complete CNC milled foils, and Aerotrope, which was the primary design office behind both Sailrocket 1 and Sailrocket 2.
The AES will be the first time Sailrocket 2 has gone on full public display since it broke the record three years ago.