The new issue of Seahorse has come in and inside is the story of the wildest ocean racing design I’ve ever seen.
Many will know that Sean Langman has been an innovator in ocean racing; his Grundig Xena-a heavily modified Open 60 mono has been in the race for line honors against much larger boats.
This new boat is conceived of by Langman and is being designed by Andy Dovell:
LOA 90’(27.5m)
Hull length- 75’(23m)
Beam-32’ 10"(10m)
Hull beam-16’ (5m)
Draft 14’(4.25m)
Displ. 26000lb.s(12000kg)
Upwind SA- 1853 sq. ft. (340m sq.)
If you look closely at the dimensions you’ll see that the hull is 75’ but the overall length is 90; why? Because the boat has a fixed ,built in asy pole 15’(4.57m) long!
But thats nothing compared to this: you may have noticed that hull beam is different than overall beam and that’s because the boat has a 32’(10m) by approx.32’ platform attached PIVOTABLY to the hull! This platform has a pivot at the front end(about midships) and a pivot at the transom. On the platform are a Wheel on each side and other winches as well as water ballast tanks at the extreme out
board edges! The shrouds are attached to this platform while the mast is stepped on the hull deck. The mechanics of the platform allow the hull to heel 14 degrees relative to the platform and therefore the mast cants relative to the hull but stays “vertical” relative to the platform! The keel cants relative to the platform the same amount though it is fixed to the hull.
A comment by Andy Dovell:" Basically, what we are doing with this boat is canting the keel, but doing it differently:we’ve just gone one step further north than everyone else. We’ve moved the keel hinge to the deck,gone up one level and then taken the ramifications on from there.What we gain is te center of gravity shift advantage as well as the form stability from the hull because it cants with the keel. This is a big gain over what we might now call a conventional canting keel,where all you gain is the center of gravity shift.
On top of that, because we’re canting the hull our wide deck platform stays out of the water. That feature eliminates the big problem that comes with wide flared boats that carry water ballast in wing tanks; that slam really badly when they heel."
From the Seahorse article:" Langman owes much of the lateral thinking he’s applied to what is designated the Langman/Dovell 75 to his number one mentor,the late Ben Lexcen: ‘I had a Flying Fifteen a lot of years ago that I fitted with wings and a very deep keel just to see what it would do. Ben Lexcen had an office above where I kept the boat and one day he came down in a typical Ben flurry of words and actions.He told me his thoughts on a canting rig and how I should apply myself to that line of thinking.It’stuck with me ever since,and here it is in this boat.’ "
There seem to me to be ENORMUS problems with this boat not the least of which is inverted stability but the speed potential is simply awesome when they figure out how to sail it.
May 2004 Seahorse starting on page
37…
My dear friend lorsail!
Again, I will try to answer your post. Obviously, both canting keels and canting masts have been tested! This year the 2.4mr World Championships will be held in Gavle, Sweden (I will attend). In Gavle the main factory of the Stenbeck industry is located, Korsnas. Jan Stenbeck was sponsoring the Victory Challange in Auckland. In Gavle there is an ongoing project with hinged keel, optimizing the lateral resistance. If you already have the stability of the yacht this is the right move. Needless to say a hinged mast will do no good under normal circumstances. However, on a very stiff yacht the shape of the sails will be improved at low wind speeds (simply by gravity acting on the sails). By comparison, this is one of the reasons we rake the mast forward downwind (there are airo-dynamical reasons as well).
Regards,
Booster
This boat with some hull shape mods(probably) longer keel and maybe wider “platform” would be an excellent candidate for an rc model: it could be quite light and very powerful…
My dear friend lorsail!
I am flattered by your interest of the subject. If we adopt a Ljungstrom rig (with soft solar panels/fabric) on this boat mass-media will thrilled. And the sponsors too.
Regards,
Booster
that is just crazy haven heard of any thing so silly in all my life not only would you hae to steer around the keel but also the mast sounds like sean and andy have been smoking too many drugs
When the Apprentice knows more than the Mentor its time to quit!
My dear friends lorsail and michaelb!
I detect some dark undertones, but I am nethertheless flattered by your comment michaelb. We are living in a new age where technology stands by in many situations. A GPS is more or less a computer that can incorporate micro-chips that automatically handles many of the problems you mention. See the Local Pub Ljungstrom post, as well.
Regards,
Booster
hay dont get me worng im all for techonoligy in fact i love it but im starting to think that sailing(not rc) is moving towards a place where we just push buttons and all computer driven then all the local knowlede goes away and so does all the skill. look at the farr 52od itich barn its beating boats which are duble its size with all the new techonoligies. didnt wild ots have a guy on a computer down below controlling the cant? come on thats not my idea of sailing i may as well stay at home on my computer playing a simulator or rather watching a computer race a yacht it would be a hell of a lot cheaper
When the Apprentice knows more than the Mentor its time to quit!
tchonoligy is a wonderfull thing i sail on a 40ft yacht where the plotter(gps) talks to the instruments and can give you some thing like 1,000,000 different calculations 99% will never be used in a normail around the cans races. all the teconoligies in the world are not going to help you if you have to get your head around alll the computers and buttons if you are missing wind shifts. you dont win yacht races you just dont make as many mistakes as the person who finished after you
When the Apprentice knows more than the Mentor its time to quit!
I think the new Langman/Dovell 75 is a bold attempt to bring more power and control into ocean racing and I think it’s great that they are willing to invest heavily in broadening all our horizons. I see what I think are some potential problems but then I don’t know all the details.
It is a tremendous comment on the times in which we live that so many are willing to invest so much in new untried,unproven technology. How else does technology go forward? If the timid ,conservative people had their way there would be no innovation in sailing(like the guys that denied the new boat a rating with no explanation!) ; as it is the powers that be , in many respects ARE the innovators hence we have boats like: Morning Glory and Pyewackett, Genuine Risk, Maiden Hong Kong, Mari Cha, Cheyenne,Orange, the Flying Moth, Skat,Hydroptere,Mirabella Parlier’s new planing cat and countless others who"dare to go where no man(woman) has been before".
Because of extrememly restrictive rules in all recognized develoment classes, there isn’t as much excitement in rc sailng yet but a few pioneers are trying to change that: Pat Clear and the Musto Skiff, Grunta and the Wind Warrior , me with spinnaker boats , sailing hydrofoils and canting keel boats sailing or under development and dozens of other individuals working on their own applications of some of these new technologies like Gappy, John Beavis in NZ ,Chaz and Matthew in the UK and others in Germany , France ,South Africa, Australia and here.
I think this is one of the most exciting times in the history of sailboat development!
My dear friends lorsail and michaelb!
I agree, this is one of the most exciting times in the history of sailboat development! Regarding windshifts, michealb. I have removed the compass from my 2.4mr. The race-fleet gives more information about the shifts approaching. Moreover, I have altered the adjustable forstay to a fixed one. In order to reduce the number of failures in a boat handled by just one person. Thus, I see the rc as a hightech-boat compared to my 2.4mr.
Regards,
Booster
smart move getting rid of the adjustiable forstay(as long as you can still adjust it on the beach) on a lot of boats eg most swept back rigs you have to adjust the forstay about 20 tturns (farr 40 od) between light air and heavy air done down wind by the main sheet trimmer or between races as for getting rid of your compas well not to sure about that one but hay i guess when i was sailing dinghys i didnt jues a compas too many other things to do
When the Apprentice knows more than the Mentor its time to quit!