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SUMMARY
LIGHT BRIGADE
By Gary Baigent
Gary Baigent offers a unique perspective on the evolution of modern light weight sailing yachts from the small nation with the big image that led the way. This exerpt does not relate specifically to multihulls, but instead to the essence of multihulls, which is light weight.
When reading this article, consider that the postwar monohull had about half its total weight in its ballast keel and the rest in its hull, deck rig and all else. In contrast, the recent America’s Cup monohulls have a total weight of roughly 100,000 Lbs. nine-tenths of which is ballast (right, ballast keels of roughly 90,000 Lbs. with hull, rig and everything else weighing roughly 10,000 Lbs.). This indicates enormous advances in light weight construction of structures, and a frenzied effort to gain stability without adding another hull or two… Gracious no!
Of course the same structural advances are now applied to multihulls, which are totally non-ballasted. This enormous weight saving explains why the
2010 Americas Cup multihulls were able to sail at almost four times the speed of the true wind.
Gary Baigent’s story brings us some grasp of the sea change that has swamped modern yacht design, both mono and multi. And it harkens back to the multihull mantra of the 1960s, GET THE LEAD OUT.