Nick Holroyd leads the design effort for SoftBank Team Japan. With his expertise in computational fluid dynamics and appendage design, he’ll lead much of the experimental development process that will enable the boats to foil more efficiently and with more control.
“First, there’s a lot of work to assess the package we’ve got”, explained Nick. “Fortunately, the design space is narrowed down – appendages, control systems, wing control, ergonomics, how to deal with the shortage of power on the boat in terms of hydraulic power from the boys grinding – those are all areas teams know they really need to focus on at this point.”
Specifically, dagger board foil design will take the priority seat in the development phase as the team narrows down which shapes will go into production for their future America’s Cup Class yacht.
“The way the protocol works is you’re only ever allowed to fit 4 boards [2 sets] into the America’s Cup Class yacht. Depending on how you want to design those – for wind range, sea state, stability, etc. – then the first set you launch the boat with will be one of your racing sets. You’re focusing on both the refinement and revolution game at this point so the pressure is on.”
Add to this the fact that contractors have specific build windows in which to construct these underwater carbon fiber wings and it becomes clear that every practice session on the water is precious.
“The decision date looms pretty fast when you consider typical build time for new daggerboards is 3 months. The clock is very much ticking.”
Watch the interview. Look carefully at about 40 seconds into the video – you’ll see the anti cavitation bulb on the rudder of their AC45F.
The Team: Nick Holroyd