- With just a year to go before the start of the Vendee Globe, and with the Transat Jacques Vabre underway, let's make the point as of now and for the future IMOCAs over the next 12 months. I have no access to files about the newly launched boats and therefore I will start with my own evolution with designs for this very special Class.
- Eventually, with the progress and comments going to be made, I might change my ideas to present a coherent and up to date approach to my own vision.
- Well, this year has been something else? I found myself so busy that, I had no time to follow through the Vendee Globe; in view to write my own vision about the IMOCA evolution. Besides the fact that it is over my head at the moment, having no access to the tooling necessary to elaborate this foiling era for the Class.
- Eventually, I'll get back with my interpretation.
-Well ! to late. Pressure at work and the total foils revolution, like 3 times, I have not been able to follow through as I said above. As the boats are approaching the finish line in an unprecedented close racing for the Vendee Globe, I definitely reserve my comments and my own observation about what is going on.
- Also, see on this Blog.
- A voir aussi. Use Search to the right.
. Detour to history.
. Sailing and foiling.
. Il n'y a qu'un pas, and foiling is here.
. Vendee Globe Race 2012 starting today and, for the next 3 months
. Imoca: Moustache ou pas?
. Imoca 60 shape and America's Cup 2013.
. Vendee Globe 2012.
. Vendee Globe 2012, in 24 hours; 545.3 miles.
- Notes: Renderings of past winners' sail plans are by Chevalier- Tagland.
-Vendee- Globe 1996-1997. Winner: Christophe Auguin aboard Geodis. Architects Finot-Conq.
- I let a few years pass by, and a few more V-G before going back to the subject of designing another IMOCA; unfortunately only for my own consumption.
- But in between, I made a few modifications to the earlier model. Adding a chine above the waterline to increase the power lacking before with the heavily flared topsides. I kept the same mast, rig, keel, and appendages.
- Now, the Class is strongly entrenched with progress, and with new boats, the evolution is apparent for this V-G 2008-2009.
- My version for the event is also a vision of my own thinking and addresses several options. The most apparent are in the bow shape, the curved dagger-boards, the rudders, and the rig.
- The bow has been made wider and if at the waterline the lines are still sharp, the stem widens towards the height of the deck, while using inversion in the middle. I have been appalled by the wetness of the '60s and I tried to alleviate the impact of the water while increasing volume high up. On other boats, given the opportunity, I usually take advantage of this added volume. I have always admired the Bill Tripp rounded bow of Ondine for example. The main reason at the time was to elongate the waterline when heeled over the short waterlines sailboats designed under the C.C.A rules.
- Next, the large asymmetrical daggerboards are now curved and positioned as far outboard as possible; and as already seen on ORMA 60 catamarans.
- The rudders have been moved inboard to minimize the problem of cavitation. The new location dictates a different shape.
- The rotating mast with spreaders has not changed, but the wishbones have been replaced by a boom, albeit unconventional and reminiscent of the Hoyt boom, designed to self-control and self-tacking a jib. The idea is to eliminate the boom vang and to prevent the main from raising up under tension making it very difficult to trim the mainsail. I have not adopted the outrigger spreaders located on the deck.
- Winner of the 2008-2009 V-G, Michel Desjoyeaux aboard Foncia, designed by Farr.
- Vendee Globe 2012-2013.
- For this Race around the world, nonstop, none assistance, we are still in a pre-foiling era. This event took place before the America's Cup 2013 which made you think then, about adopting the more or less horizontal boards to enhance stability and made you glide, not flying yet. We leave this approach for later.
- I am still very much partisan of my shape for the hull; sharper and flatter from forward to aft below the waterline and boxy above for a simplified hard chine connection.
- I concentrate again on the bow shape. With the mast and the center of effort moving aft emphasizes the foretriangle being push forward, it is becoming essential to building up the volume in the bow to avoid pitchpoling.
- For the rig, I removed some wiring but kept the single spreader and again did not used outriggers.
- The Winner? Macif. Designed by VPLP/ Guillaume Verdier.
- Vendee Globe 2016-2017.
- Armel Le Cleach with Banque popular won this event after an all along battle with Alex Thompson on Hugo Boss.
- The later handicapped by the breakage of his starboard foil. Yes, really the first V-G race, where foils of some kind were used in the fleet; not so much to achieve flying or sustentation over water, but simply to increase nominal stability to offer more power.
- Both boats were designed by VPLP and Guillaume Verdier.
- Back in 2013, prior the 2016 V-G race, I ventured to present my empirical solution to combine what I saw on the America's Cup boats of that year; that is to say a L shaped foil. The direction was already to fit the next generation of IMOCA's wth some sorts of lifting plant form fitted to the sides of the boats.
- I made the mistake to follow closely the Catamaran version rather than to adopt a configuration for a Monohull. So here is, in insight what I should have done; have the foils mirrored from one side to the other side, to present the lifting surface to outboard of the topsides.
- As you can see, this solution if better that my first attempt, but leaves a lot to be desired when one has to transit from combating leeway and trying to lift the hull to foiling with some flying involved.
- Well maybe in this this set-up, with the 2 arms stretched, an equilibrium can be achieved to raise the hull above water? Sorry America's Cup boats.
- I have to admit that a lot has been happening within the past year or so when I started this Blog about the I.M.O.C.A's; and the world in general has never been quite the same for sometimes. All this to say that even though I follow the Race of the world ultimate endurance challenge, I have not had the time to come up with my own eculubrication.
- Race starts in less than 20 days.
(to be continued)
- They have started, and I will follow the Vendee Globe Race.
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