Alinghi Using straight Centreboards

[MrWolf 0]

That to me is a huge shock.

 

I thought the Orma 60's had proven the effectiveness of curved foils.

 

The silly "S" shape thing might not have worked.

 

Perhaps the curved foils on their own just don't resist sideslip well enough ?

That means the centre foil on the tri may be doing more than we realise.

 

Bottom line is that the straight boards can't give as much vertical lifting force as the tri (which must result in a lower righting moment for the cat).

[ScottiE 174]

I picked that up too - I recall Prevost saying something along those lines last year. I wondered also if they might change out the board depending on expected wind strength - ie. there's too much drag at low speed to be worth it. But then oracle no longer has their board in the centre hull and are always flying two so go figure . . .