Design of an Ac75 High-Performance Sailing Yacht

Abstract

The objective of this project is the study and design of the four main elements of an AC75 yacht: the hull, the foils, the rudder and the mainsail. To accomplish this objective, an understanding of the historical and theoretical background of the America’s Cup is required, which is followed by the study and analysis of both the AC75 Class Rule and competitors of the 36th America’s Cup. A preliminary design is devised for each of the elements, describing their design intent, and is then analysed in order to model a final design of each component and of the final product. Throughout the project, a better understanding of how the yacht works is gained and consequently the design focus evolves past the perspective of aerospace engineering. One of the elements of the mainsail design improves its aerodynamic efficiency by more than 5% by taking advantage of possible Class Rule interpretations and innovative design inspired by the aerospace sector.