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AC72 design – control systems on Oracle Team USA

 

Lots to control, very few crew

Trim the jib. Adjust the wing camber and twist. Trim the wing in and out. Raise and lower the daggerboards and adjust their angle of attack. To win the America’s Cup will require clever control systems.  Everyone in the crew multitasks – tactician John Kostecki and Ben Ainslie are also grinders.

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OTUSA AC72 – What do those buttons on the wheel control?

AC72 development process

When Oracle Team USA re-launched “USA 17” after the capsize, they changed from tiller to wheel steering. At first the wheel was only for steering (look here) but now they have added control buttons. At first just taped on, now they have become permanent. What do they control? Who controls the daggerboard angle of attack?

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Control buttons for the helmsman and wrist computers for wing trimmer and tactician on AC72

Crew positions

To reduce aerodynamic drag, OTUSA’s AC 72 design team built four cockpits for the crew, each with a grinding pedestal. Cockpit four also has place for the helmsman and the wing trimmer.

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Jib trimmer on the trampoline on Oracle Team USA AC72.

Grinders multitask, too

Grinders have controls to shift gears on the pedestals and to change what is being powered by the pedestal they are on – trimming the jib, hoisting the gennaker, raising or lowering the daggerboards.  The next photo is a little blurry but it looks like they also have some pushbutton controls…

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Pushbutton controls at AC72 grinder station

We’ve seen this before

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America’s Cup 2010 Defender Alinghi 5

For the America’s Cup in 2010, the Alinghi 5 catamaran had pushbutton controls in the cockpits. But there were no grinders – power for the hydraulics came from a modified snowmobile engine!

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A gasoline engine powered the hydraulics for Alinghi 5 in the 2010 America’s Cup defense.

 

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AC72 design – USA17 ergonomics

 

AC72 USA 17 has 4 pedestals in cockpits in each hull. AC72 USA 17 has 4 pedestals in cockpits in each hull.

USA 17 ergonomics – grinding stations

USA 17 of Oracle Team USA has tiller steering (replaced later by wheel) and 4 grinding stations in each hull.

Grinding pedestals are in cockpits,  to reduce windage.  The cockpits turned out to be a very safe place to be when USA 17 capsized on October 16, 2012. It was only the eighth day she had sailed. AC72 design includes layout of crew positions for grinding and wing and sail trimming.

 

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Humor is a key survival skill

 

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Bits of wrecked USA 17 have been built into a seaplane for Red Bull Flugtag In his book Deep Survival, Laurence Gonzalez talks about the need to keep a sense of humor in serious situations, where your life (or your Defense of the America’s Cup) depends on your ability to survive.

No shortage of this attribute at Oracle Team USA, where Shannon Falcone seems to be leading the effort to build a flying machine from what’s left of USA 17’s wing after their catastrophic capsize and failed righting efforts last month.

Check out the 45 second video and come to McCovey Cove in San Francisco tomorrow for some good fun.

 

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Righting an AC72 after a capsize

 

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Why not build a full scale model out of cheap materials and try things like this?   Photo: Oracle Team USA

I have to wonder if any of the teams knows how to right an AC72 after a capsize.  Here’s what Jimmy Spithill had to say about it, after experiencing Oracle Team USA’s attempts to save their America’s Cup catamaran:

“I’m not sure you’d be able to right one of these boats when they’re on their side.

It doesn’t matter how much horsepower you’ve got, it just seems really tough to try and get the grip to pull them over. All you’re trying to do is actually just get the boat to a safe haven.

And in that case we probably would’ve been best to just try and – whatever it took – just hook up as many chase boats and then just get it straight over to Sausalito and deal with it there.”

Listen, at 27:54 into this video interview: http://tinyurl.com/d5dgn6y

Has anyone thought of building a full scale model out of cheap materials, not to sail, but just to knock it over and try different techniques to right it?  Maybe it’s time to give that a go…