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1416
1417

Ballsy only (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by Suriv_Dnim

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[–]BK_Whatever 35 points36 points ago

I know nothing about boats/sailing. Someone inform me about what's going on an how the boat got at that angle?

[–]Zelgada 60 points61 points ago

The counter-weight of the boat acts as a sort of lever. Since the catamaran is so wide, this leverage is very high. This allows more of the energy from the wind to be transferred to the forward motion of the boat when moving perpendicular to the wind, and thus the boat moves faster.

Without the leverage, the boat would tip over very far (to the left) and reduce the cross-section with the wind, and would not gain as much energy, and not move forward as fast.

It's a game of maintaining a semi-stable equilibrium in which you want to maximize the force pushing the boat forward.

[–]GeeBee72 45 points46 points ago

It's a Trimaran (three hulls) not a Catamaran (two hulls). Generally catamaran's do not heel unless they are about to capsize. As you said, trimarans are designed to have so much weight to counterbalance the heeling moment that they can run with two hulls out of the water (ideally only one hull with the main body just dipping into the water).

Because they are designed to heel, the lack of a weighted keel is replaced by the leveraged weight inside the leeward hull.

[–]95072 47 points48 points ago

I'm not sure why you don't think catamarans heel unless they're about to capsize. Maybe the large, heavy ones that are designed for pleasure cruising don't, but the ones that are designed for racing most certainly do (when the wind is heavy enough, of course). I grew up sailing on a lake that raced catamarans (among other classes), so I've seen this firsthand, but there are also numerous examples of pictures here. (And I acknowledge that some of those boats did indeed capsize, but most of the time heeling is a normal part of sailing upwind and usually doesn't lead to capsizing).

To your point about counterbalancing being needed, one way that happens in smaller catamarans is through the use of harnesses that allow the sailors' own bodies be that counter weight as they literally stand on the side of the hull rather than sit atop it.

[–]gjbloom 24 points25 points ago

There's just no feeling in the world like the first time you heel a cat. As the windward hull rises above the water and releases its drag, you can feel the cat shoot forward, like shifting gears.

Also, as the cat leans over, there's less sheet in the wind, so it reduces the force of the wind trying to tip the cat over.

[–]BurgerWorker 12 points13 points ago

Hobie 16 baby!

[–]verberat 0 points1 point ago

Prindle 18.

[–]ave0000 9 points10 points ago

I think if I tried to teach a cat to heel I'd get mixed looks of apathy and disdain, followed by serious lacerations the moment I gave up, and pissed-in shoes in the morning. Cat's are surprisingly amicable to being tipped over, though.

[–]makingnosmallplan 4 points5 points ago

I think that's that ship that can sink and carry oil rigs and shit in the background. Cool beans.

[–]lick_it 2 points3 points ago

try releasing the sheet on a yacht in a split second, ya gonna have a bad time.

[–]cheesesaurous 0 points1 point ago

What are you trying to say here and what do you mean by yacht? (Yacht is pretty broad).

[–]LettersFromTheSky 0 points1 point ago

In that source of images you posted, I came across this - looks pretty kick ass.

One of these days I want to own a sail boat - so peaceful and quiet and fun.

[–]mardin8985 0 points1 point ago

That looks a lot like this boat that they raced on top gear. Very fast.

[–]RupeThereItIs 13 points14 points ago

My hobie 16 disagrees with your statement.

It's most fun when one hull is out of the water.

}:-)

[–]treespleaseSC 3 points4 points ago

My Solcat 18 also disagree with his statement and at the same time laughs at your hobie 16.

[–]RupeThereItIs 5 points6 points ago

Go ahead laugh, it's not like I have ANY IDEA what I'm doing w/my little boat. :-)

Most people laugh at me, I'm sure ;-)

[–]shenanigins 2 points3 points ago

Don't know where you got, "they only heel when are about to capsize" thing. The fastest angle for a cat is with the windward hull a few inches above the water, the least amount of drag. That being said it will often heel a few feet above the water. While not fast, if you depower your sails as much as possible and you are still heeling because of the wind, the only thing you can do is ease the sail which also slows you down.

^ Btw you don't sail perpendicular the wind. I mean you can, but then it would be impossible to get to the windward mark, up wind. It's generally accepted that you sail 45 degrees into the wind, making a tack 90degrees leaving you at 45degrees in the other direction. Reaching, perpendicular to the wind, is the fastest point of sail though.

[–]stevedoredolly 2 points3 points ago

Actually, for most boats a broad reach is the fastest point of sail. You did say "reaching" is the fastest point and in that you are correct but a broad reach is a fair bit down wind of "perpendicular to the wind".

[–]shenanigins 0 points1 point ago

Haha, I actually did say broad reach then took it out to make it sound simpler. I would call a broad reach, maybe, 15 degrees down from perpendicular though, so not to much. Generally speaking, though, you don't reach in a race unless they put a reach mark in or you are sailing a multi. Are there other boats that ultimately go faster reaching back and forth instead of dead down wind that are mono hulls?

[–]stevedoredolly 0 points1 point ago

A scow might but they are almost multi-hulled with wide flat bottoms and a dagger-board on each side that goes out at an angle intending to be sailed heeled over quite far. This pic shows it well. It is essentially the same idea as flying a hull in a multi-hull.

I agree that most mono-hulls won't bother with broad reaches when going down wind in races since the boost in speed isn't great enough to offset the added distance and the time jibing especially when flying a spinnaker. Broad reaches are super fun when you are just tooling around, though. You could really feel the increase in speed when you turned up from running down wind.

Damn, now I want to go sailing.

[–]GeeBee72 3 points4 points ago

You're right of course, I was thinking only about the large catamarans with relatively narrow beam widths for their length. Catamaran's have enormous stability and it takes a great deal of force to initiate a heeling moment, which in the boats I'm thinking about quickly results in a capsize.

With Monohulls, the force required to initiate heeling is low and resistance grows as the heeling increases. In catamarans the initial force required to begin heeling is high and resistance lowers as heeling increases. With Trimarans, the outer hulls are not as deep as the main hull which allows heeling to begin a lower power and the counter weight of the main and windward hull increases as the boat increases its heel.

So, certainly on small sport catamarans the windward hull can leave the water (balanced by body weight in an outboard trapeze), but on a 40 footer? I don't have any experience racing on or against such boats so I can only go by what I've experienced in the sport-cruiser catamarans, which is if she starts heeling de-power fast or your foooked.

[–]GeeBee72 0 points1 point ago

As for your point of sail, it depends on the course you're racing / running. If your mark is dead upwind you wouldn't be running at 90 degrees to it unless you felt there was some wind advantage to the outside of the course which would allow you to maximize your VMG to the mark (VMC). A continual port/starboard tack 45 degree beating to the mark can be horrendous depending on your boat type and sail plan.

Also, you know, winds shift and there are localized low and high pressure zones, so there's one optimal tack for a given boat which is based on the skipper's ability to spot the wind and know his/her boat's polars.

http://vakfinn.narod.ru/MPS/EN/Articles/Wind-and-Current/2.Boat-Velocity-Polar-Diagram/YVPD.png

http://www.oppedijk.com/zeilen/polar-table

http://www.oppedijk.com/zeilen/create-polar-diagram

[–]jlonsdale78 0 points1 point ago

About how wide is that? Would the vessel be measured in length AND width? I'm trying to use the gentleman standing for scale... 80' wide?

[–]Cintx 1 point2 points ago

That is BOR90. She has an LWL of 90 feet and is 89.9 feet on the beam. The mast is 223 feet tall.

[–]magnet_syrup 0 points1 point ago

It's almost 90' wide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_17_(yacht)

load more comments (1 reply)

    [–]BK_Whatever 1 point2 points ago

    Thank you!

    [–]robertbieber 1 point2 points ago

    Wait, what does leverage have to do with maximizing energy transfer? I was always taught that heeling was about minimizing friction by keeping as little hull in contact with the water as possible.

    [–]fe3o4 0 points1 point ago

    minimizing friction by keeping as little hull in contact with the water as possible

    thereby maximizing energy transfer

    [–][deleted] ago

    [deleted]

    [–]CAKEDAY_CONGRATULATR 0 points1 point ago

    happy cake day

    load more comments (3 replies)

      [–]Sunoiki 10 points11 points ago

      Most simply the wind is pushing it over, but it reaches a point where the tipping force is balanced by the weight of the out of water pontoon. It was designed to do exactly that, you can see the two wheels so the crew can shift the weight based on how strong the wind is pushing them over. Now the boat has very little surface area in the water, and a whole ton of sail, making it quite fast.

      [–]BobRawrley 2 points3 points ago

      It's called heeling. The wind force required varies for each boat, but when the wind reaches a certain velocity, all boats start to lean over a little because the pressure on the sail pushes them sideways. If there is too much pressure, a boat will capsize, or flip. In this case, the boat is a catamaran (or rather, a trimaran), meaning it has several hulls connected by booms instead of a single hill. Catamarans, instead of heeling like a normal boat (rotating on a bow-to-stern axis that goes through the middle of the hull), act like a see-saw and heel in the way shown in the picture. Because of the significantly reduced surface area in contact with the water as opposed to a regular boat, catamarans are often faster than traditional boats.

      [–]BK_Whatever 0 points1 point ago

      thanks!

      [–]dietbroccoli 0 points1 point ago

      "THEY'RE CLUBHAULIN' IT!"

      -Captain Barbosa

      [–]MasterLJ 0 points1 point ago

      It's also deceptive... if you're a decent skipper, you're never really in any danger of tipping here.

      The mast is the tall thing sticking straight up, the bar (usually aluminum) running parallel with the boat's deck is called the boom. The sail is attached to both of these pieces. You control the boom with a series of lines (usually main sheet, and boom vang) which control how far out the sail should go.

      If the wind is at your back you should let the main sheet out nearly all the way, to catch the most win. If you are heading up-wind, you can't just go straight into the wind... imagine the wind is coming from 12 o'clock headed towards 6 o'clock. You would head at around 9-10 o'clock, tack over to 2-3 o'clock, in a series of zig zags, to make headway in the direction that the wind is blowing.

      In any case, judging from the positioning of the sail, this person is sailing upwind... and all you have to do if you feel you are going to tip, is to let out your main sheet, or point the nose of the boat away from the direction of the wind... (actually, you could stall by point towards the wind as well causing you to "luff" [bubbles in the sail] and slowing you down).

      load more comments (4 replies)

        [–]Sycosys 14 points15 points ago

        This is when you know for certain you are officially hauling ass on nothing but the wind..

        [–]gunslinger_006 19 points20 points ago

        Random fact: That boat was made for BMW and assembled in Anacortes Washington, a little sleepy boating town in the San Juan Islands.

        [–]7_seat 10 points11 points ago

        In addition to boating, we are also a drinking town... The two tend to go hand-in-hand.

        [–]gunslinger_006 3 points4 points ago

        My parents live there, I spend time in Anacortes about twice per year.

        Then I come back to the midwest and:

        1) All seafood here sucks 2) I miss Gere-a-deli 3) I miss being able to hike around Washintgon Park

        [–]waither 2 points3 points ago

        Gere-a-deli's green machine = godlike. Always grab one before hopping on the ferry home :D

        [–]shemp420 0 points1 point ago

        I have never been able to get over ordering anything but the Supremo

        [–]7_seat 1 point2 points ago

        OH GOD THE SEAFOOD. I live in Boston now and all these New Englanders keep saying "Ahh we gat the best lobstah and seafood you can find anywheah." False. They do not have Dungeness Crab.

        In fact, I'm packing my bags right now, about to fly home tonight.

        [–]StumbleBees 1 point2 points ago

        I love lobster. I love Dungeness more.

        [–]yoda133113 0 points1 point ago

        WTF does Bahston know about seafood? That said, while I do like Dungeness, I still prefer good ol' Blue Crab any day! Tell those guys to stick to their chowdahs

        [–]HemHaw 1 point2 points ago

        Fist bump from Olympia. I drive over your way sometimes when the weather is nice on the motorcycle.

        [–]waither 2 points3 points ago

        Shoutout from San Juan Island resident! Woot! And Anacortes is on the mainland - ie. not a part of the San Juan Islands (though very nearby)!

        I feel famous...

        [–]gunslinger_006 5 points6 points ago

        Anacortes is technically on Fidalgo Island, its only considered an island because of a tiny bridge out near the refineries. (you have to cross over water via State route 20 or Reservation road, which is what makes Fidalgo an island)

        I mean...people from there might call it the "mainland" but technically speaking its on Fidalgo, but yeah, its not like Guemes or Lopez in terms of being truly isolated by water:

        http://maps.google.com/maps?sugexp=chrome,mod%3D8&q=anacortes+wa&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x548578d19cc8966b:0xb21d969264e39198,Anacortes,+WA&gl=us&ei=_46-T4XcA8zXiAKV7Z2gCA&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&ved=0CLQBELYD

        [–]waither 2 points3 points ago

        For some reason I forgot that it actually on an island. But technically it isn't a part of the San Juans ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Islands#List_of_ ).

        Anyways, doesn't really matter so.... Yay people talking about the Pacific NW. Thanks for posting so I could read about some fellow Washingtonians :D

        [–]gunslinger_006 2 points3 points ago

        Oh now that is news to me...interesting, I didn't realize that Fidalgo was not technically considered one of the San Juans.

        Man its confusing up there...for a while it was the Puget Sound, then the Straight of San Juan de Fuca...and now I believe that up near Fidalgo its called the Salish Sea?

        Anyway, I LOOOOVE that area and I can't wait to get up there again.

        My plan is to move to the Seattle area in the next 5-10 years or so, most of my family is there already.

        [–]sweetlove 1 point2 points ago

        They also have excellent lakes within a very short drive. Cranberry lake rules so hard.

        [–]chriskmee 7 points8 points ago

        Some videos for those who want to see this thing in action:

        BMW ORACLE RACING: Aerial Symphony

        BMW ORACLE Racing: Munich BMW Technology Workshop Trailer

        BMW ORACLE Racing Wins the 33rd America's Cup

        All of these are all from the BMW Oracle Racing YouTube channel, so if you wnat more videos, just search their channel.

        [–]kukul 38 points39 points ago

        I'd love to try this on a condition that the crew wouldn't make fun of me for shitting my pants.

        [–]innou 46 points47 points ago

        I imagine all passengers would be required to wear both a life vest and sailin' diapers

        [–]JoeMomma8008 2 points3 points ago

        I wonder what the maximum amount of crew members is. Anyone know?

        [–]CrackpotGonzo 1 point2 points ago

        Pack a jug 'o sippin' whiskey too

        [–]K2TheM 1 point2 points ago

        It's actually more "peaceful" than you might think (when done right anyway).

        [–]shenanigins 2 points3 points ago

        I love racing multi's. When you get that the other hull a few inches above the water and you take off. It's so smooth and quiet. On a mono-hull it's so loud and sluggish in comparison. I'm hate switching back, haha.

        [–]Douteux 1 point2 points ago

        Not so much. I race FJays and on a day with steady wind, you can just tie down your sheets and it's smooth from there. Nothing really loud or sluggish. Though on choppy days it's like taking a car over a speed bump at 100 mph, but I think that applies to all boats.

        [–]crispyfry 1 point2 points ago

        Though on choppy days it's like taking a car over a speed bump at 100 mph, but I think that applies to all boats.

        Some multihulls are designed to be wave piercing instead of riding over top of the waves like normal boats. The downside to this is you have zero reserve buoyancy and if you get a hull breach the boat will sink like a rock.

        [–]Lord-Longbottom 4 points5 points ago

        (For us Engish aristocrats, I leave you this 100 mph -> 800.0 Furlongs/hr) - Pip pip cheerio chaps!

        [–]jag213 69 points70 points ago

        If I remember correctly this is for the America's cup and they absolutely killed the competition because of that fixed wing sail

        [–]wekiva 64 points65 points ago

        That boat does not have a fixed wing sail.

        [–]wbemus 23 points24 points ago

        They started without a fixed wing and after a few months of practice they moved onto a wing.

        [–]jag213 7 points8 points ago

        Haha you are right must have been an earlier version of Oracles boat

        [–]tallowen 33 points34 points ago

        What is a fixed wing sail and why is it so awesome?

        [–]uwsdwfismyname 15 points16 points ago

        http://sailing.about.com/b/2009/11/12/americas-cup-bmw-oracle-goes-with-fixed-wing-sail.htm

        [–]guitarfixer 8 points9 points ago

        Keep in mind that I have no idea what I'm talking about, but looking at the pic in the OP compared to the description in your link I don't think the OP is a fixed wing.

        [–]tealess 15 points16 points ago

        It's the same hull with a different sail rigged. It can be sailed with either a fixed wing or traditional setup.

        [–]guitarfixer 3 points4 points ago

        Makes sense.

        [–]Jay_Normous 2 points3 points ago

        The picture in OP is from one of the early photos of the boat. They either added the wing late in the development or kept it secret for as long as possible. I remember seeing pictures like OP with a soft sail for months before the race, and only hearing about the fixed wing a relatively close to the race.

        [–]thefirebuilds 5 points6 points ago

        ugh, why do i read non-reddit comments.

        [–]thefifthwit 0 points1 point ago

        I was thinking the same thing. "Typical American fascist PIGS!"

        load more comments (1 reply)

          [–]jag213 32 points33 points ago

          Its like a vertical plane wing that is composed of moving sections. Each of the sections can be independently adjusted to give the wing a desired shape. This was one of the first boats to use the wing and against the other traditional sails in the race it proved far superior. I think the wing is pretty common now.

          [–]shenanigins 4 points5 points ago

          One of the first America's Cup boats to use the wing...

          ftfy

          [–]gription 1 point2 points ago

          This was the first America's Cup boat to use a wing.

          [–]fe3o4 0 points1 point ago

          because it's been fixed.

          load more comments (4 replies)

            load more comments (19 replies)

              [–]tswpoker1 6 points7 points ago

              The guy on the right on the captain looks to be sitting very nonchalantly

              [–]Cactus_Fucked 1 point2 points ago

              Wearing a pokerface while wearing shit-in-pants

              [–]SIMPLYBUD 23 points24 points ago

              coulda sworn i saw this on waterworld

              [–]Slowhand09 6 points7 points ago

              Boat used in Waterworld was Lakota, a 60ft'er

              [–]OmniscientBeing 0 points1 point ago

              i thought there were three different boats used in the movie? I remember seeing one of them here in san diego a few years back.

              [–]nitefang 1 point2 points ago

              There were two. One was used for almost the entire length of filming, the other was identical but wasn't used very much.

              Story behind this is that Universal had just been bought out by a foreign company and the producers were pissed and wanted the movie to tank. They spent as much money as possible, including buying two completely custom made several million dollar boats. The "back up" boat was bought in case a problem occurred with the other one but you don't normally spend so much money on a backup. This was really a present given to some executive on the set (a producer maybe).

              Anyway, point is they only needed one but wanted to spend as much money as possible so they bought two.

              load more comments (2 replies)

                [–]bigups43 2 points3 points ago

                nah, probably saw it in waterworld.

                [–]frameRAID 4 points5 points ago

                Question: Does the steering wheel turn the sails or the rudders?

                [–]K2TheM 8 points9 points ago

                The Helm turns the rudders. On a boat this size there are probably an assortment of cranks that adjust the sails, as opposed to loose lines and cleats on smaller vessels.

                [–]Baking 2 points3 points ago

                Yes, but the question that struck me was "where is the rudder?" Presumably there is one on each pontoon, but the curvy thing seemed to be positioned poorly and the straight thin thing didn't seem large enough. Then I realized that the rudders probably moved in tandem and that the rudder that is currently in the water is turned to the left where you would want it, and not symmetrical to the one on the right.

                [–]K2TheM 3 points4 points ago

                Ahh almost. The curvy thing you see is actually keeping the boat from being pushed off course by the wind, and is typically called a "dagger board" (I don't actually know what they are called on a trimaran of this size). Their job is to resist the sideways push from the wind and keep the boat tracking "straight".

                You are correct that the rudders are linked and move in tandem. With a boat this size it needs two helms so you can see where you are going when the windward hull is lofted (like in the OP photo)

                [–]Dirkadin 1 point2 points ago

                On this the curved boards are called lifting foils and on the center hull the forward blade is the daggerboard.

                [–]biggreen10 0 points1 point ago

                You are right, they are still daggerboards.

                [–]K2TheM 0 points1 point ago

                Cool. I couldn't remember if they got a different name if they were "fixed" instead of adjustable.

                [–]DrColon 0 points1 point ago

                You can actually see the tubing that connects all the rudders in this picture. It is a little hard to see because it is black like the hull. You are correct that they move in tandem.

                [–]shenanigins 0 points1 point ago

                Back in the day they used to hire big ass football players to do the cranks, now they have electric winches. Things have gone so downhill. I'm just glad they smarted up and decided to market to the public by having exhibition matches and really cool boats. Also, Red Bull is sponsoring a youth team, as they do with so many sports these days.

                [–]K2TheM 0 points1 point ago

                I don't think any form of mechanical based racing has figured out how to properly handle the integration of advanced electronics.

                If the class is based off of a "team" mentality then the electronic winches should only be limited to "assisting" the wincher. The motor can't be used to finely tune the sail, but it allows a weaker operator to move the sail with ease. However, if the point of the racing series is to truly push the limits of what is mechanically and physically possible, go right ahead and electronically set everything.

                [–]canopener 0 points1 point ago

                You can see the genoa lines attached to the clew. The main is controlled by a sheet led through two travelers. Not so different from an ordinary day sailor.

                [–]gomexz 3 points4 points ago

                Im no sailor but some one mentioned it was a "fixed sail" rig, so my guess would be the wheels moves the rudders. Some sail boats have just a handle on the rudder and then you hold on to the rope for the sail with your free hand and you work them together to get the desired direction and speed.

                [–]xethus 3 points4 points ago

                Even on a fixed wing sail, individual parts of the sail are still controlled. As others have pointed out, the boat in this particular picture does not have a fixed wing sail.

                [–]gomexz 1 point2 points ago

                Thank you. Do you have an answer to the question as to what the wheel would be controlling on this boat?

                [–]biggreen10 4 points5 points ago

                The rudder. Wheels never control sails. It is possible to control a small dinghy with just sails and weight, but something this big wouldn't work that way.

                [–]gomexz 1 point2 points ago

                Thank you.

                [–]I_WIN_DEAL_WITH_IT 5 points6 points ago

                False. It turns the ocean in relation to the ship.

                [–]BobRawrley 0 points1 point ago

                The wheel moves the rudders. The sail is controlled by several lines (ropes) that let it go in and out based on the slack. You can see the orange line (the mainsheet) controlling the main sail in the middle of the boat directly under the bottom of the sail. You can also see the jibsheet, which is blue, connecting the corner of the left sail (jib) to the boat.

                [–]Newt29er 4 points5 points ago

                This will probably get buried, but here's a cool little fact about this boat.

                Many of the crew members chose to wear flak jackets under their spray gear. And here's why: The amount of tension and static force that boat was under was insane. One day a large pin or something of the likes broke, and sent a 2-foot stainless steel rod straight through a solid carbon fibre segment of the wing sail, it then got lodged in a solid chunk of carbon fibre halfway up the mast. Because the boat was so dangerous, it is unlikely it will ever sail again.

                [–][deleted] ago

                [deleted]

                [–]wbemus 3 points4 points ago

                I am disappointed in our US National sailing team because there was never dacron of any type on that boat ever.

                [–]Catwood16 0 points1 point ago

                *Kevlar. My bad

                [–]Slowhand09 0 points1 point ago

                I was gonna point that out but you beat me to it. And Mr US National Sailing Team... why not just say Aramid Fiber materials and cover your bases.

                [–]magnet_syrup 0 points1 point ago

                there was never dacron of any type on that boat ever

                the finality of your sentiment made me laugh and laugh

                EDIT:formatting

                [–]PB_IS_THE_ANSWER 8 points9 points ago

                Thing is honestly one of the coolest pictures I've seen on Reddit. And that's sayin something.

                [–]432 9 points10 points ago

                Redditor for 13 days. Prepare yourself kid. You're in for something amazing.

                [–]this_sort_of_thing 26 points27 points ago

                But mostly just cats

                [–]A_Tasty_Ham_Sandwich 1 point2 points ago

                But mostly amazing cats

                ftfy

                [–]roflbbq 0 points1 point ago

                I read this in the voice of the narrator of Bastion.

                [–]PB_IS_THE_ANSWER 0 points1 point ago

                I've actually been a long time lurker. Had an account for a year, but changed names.

                [–]kitd 2 points3 points ago

                Great pic! Assuming the skeg in the water is the same as the skeg in the air, that's a heck of a lot of load on not much carbon fibre.

                [–]gsxr 0 points1 point ago

                posted above is more information about the "sail". It's a 58meter high fixed wing of carbon fiber, it's 80% larger than the wing of a Boeing 747.

                I think that falls into a "fuck ton" of carbon fiber.

                [–]GeeBee72 2 points3 points ago

                I think this picture is the BOR 90, which does not have a fixed wing main. In this picture you can see the main appears to shape like a traditional sail, fixed wing mains look like a giant airplane wing (and act exactly like them too).

                edit USA 17 (from the original BOR 90) has the fixed main.

                [–]DutchPirate 4 points5 points ago

                Imperial units are so lame. I measure the universe in FUCK TONS.

                [–]Kevins_Sister 2 points3 points ago

                Like a boss

                [–]Frankenstooge 2 points3 points ago

                Sailboat racing appears to be a significantly expensive hobby.

                [–]GeeBee72 8 points9 points ago

                Best way to become a millionaire in super high-end yacht racing?? Start as a billionaire.

                [–]EThirtySicks 0 points1 point ago

                Definition of sailboat: a hole in the water you throw money into.

                So yeah, pretty much :) it may be expensive, but boy is it fun.

                [–]kroatia04 2 points3 points ago

                Here's a video of the thing in action.

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bWCULJRmwQ

                [–]123GoTeamShake 4 points5 points ago

                What the fuck does this title mean?

                [–]dillonflynn 1 point2 points ago

                Came here to see if anyone else asked. Best I can figure is it's Indian-English slang. In India, if you don't like a movie, you'll say "That movie was bad only." It's like saying something is extremely x. No clue if the OP meant it in this way or what.

                [–]wekiva 1 point2 points ago

                I'd love to get a ride on a big-time racing multihull. I am anything but fearless, but not afraid when sailing (pretty much getting wet is the biggest risk). I love that photo.

                [–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

                Falling 30 feet into water going really fast is going to be worse than getting wet

                [–]All-American-Bot 0 points1 point ago

                (For our friends outside the USA... 30 feet -> 9.1 m) - Yeehaw!

                [–]treo700P 1 point2 points ago

                Awesome! This is one of my life goals.

                [–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

                Haha, the comments on this site explaining the boat really crack me up.

                Us darn Americans and our technology ruining everything. It's nice to hear some of that again.

                [–]shenanigins 0 points1 point ago

                I blame Connors.

                [–]GeeBee72 1 point2 points ago

                I would not want to flake that jib... Just sayin'

                [–]crullah 1 point2 points ago

                What does 'ballsy only' mean?

                [–]WaitJustOneSecond 1 point2 points ago

                No - this takes balls - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2PQfJ2SAg4

                [–]magnet_syrup 1 point2 points ago

                folks, you'll like this

                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_17_(yacht)

                [–]mememonkey 1 point2 points ago

                rich douche bags with CIA connections. no love.

                [–]Dbjs100 3 points4 points ago

                I've been on one of those a few times, my godfather is an olympic silver medalist in sailing and builds them. Your first time on one of those is equally as terrifying as your first time smashing a huge spider and having a thousand babies fly out.

                Edit: only proof I have is having his first name as mine, that and geographical proof.

                Edit2: Not exactly proof, but he built one of these and actually got screen-time driving (term?) it.

                [–]ehhm 0 points1 point ago

                you are so lucky!!

                [–]Wookington 1 point2 points ago

                I wrecked a 400,000 dollar boat, because I liked the splash.

                [–]K2TheM 0 points1 point ago

                Mr. Crown?

                [–]KMan94 1 point2 points ago

                Pretty well killed off the whole America's cup thing. Sad.

                [–]benniaustindev 4 points5 points ago

                I bet people have been saying that with every major innovation. The first America's cup was won by a boat that looks like this

                [–]7_seat 1 point2 points ago

                Much of the technology with the Americas Cup boats trickle back to amateur racing and makes it more fun/exciting/fast... The lack of a real limit with AC makes the innovations run wild, a great thing!

                [–]KMan94 0 points1 point ago

                Perhaps you are correct although I do not put myself in Luddite group. I just loved the 12 meter class boats though. Ad the one in your link is pretty cool too.

                [–]shenanigins 1 point2 points ago

                I think the thing that killed off the Acup thing is being able to hire crew from other countries. Last Acup the majority of the sailors were kiwi's fuck that. The idea is that they are pitting sailing syndicates against each other to see who is the fastest and has the best boat. But I do agree that what happened that race was a disgrace. There were more arguments in court about what they could do then ever before, I believe. We won because of money, not because of skill.

                They are trying to bring this more into the public eye though, which is a little bitter sweet. At first I thought it was awesome, getting more attention to it. But then I realized we did the same thing with techno, I used to love it and nobody really listened to it. Then all of a sudden it's super mainstream and it sounds like crap, damn dubstep. While I like some of the changes, I dislike others. I think that it will be the same thing with this sport, assuming it does get big in the public's eye. I can't stand posers and I think we're going to see a lot more if it gets popular.

                [–]SlipperyJAMS 1 point2 points ago

                Pffft.... that's nothing. Kevin Costner did that years ago to get away from Dennis Hopper.

                [–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

                nothing's free in waterworld

                [–]skarface6 0 points1 point ago

                Poster is Mind_Virus (notorious reposter). See username.

                [–]jorvis 1 point2 points ago

                Why ballsy, exactly? I just got done watching F1 trials in Monaco this morning, and if you're a few inches off there you're slamming into a wall at 200mph. Here, if things go horribly wrong, .... you go for a swim.

                EDIT: I was wrong. This can be some scary shit.

                [–]WasterDave 5 points6 points ago

                You go for a swim once you've been thrown 50-60ft in the air and quite probably have landed on a honking big bit of carbon fibre. Or maybe it'll land on top of you. There's also the fun of explaining to Larry Ellison why you just trashed his $10m (say) racing yacht.

                [–]PreviousNickStolen 1 point2 points ago

                $10m, ha..

                [–]BitRex 0 points1 point ago

                Ellison crews it, too.

                [–]one-half 1 point2 points ago

                Try it.

                [–]jorvis 0 points1 point ago

                I have no doubt it would be an adrenaline rush and a ton of fun. I'm just saying I wouldn't describe it as 'ballsy' since I don't see much inherent danger in doing it. (other than losing a ton of money on a broken boat.)

                [–]one-half 1 point2 points ago

                Deaths in sailboat racing are not uncommon. 8 sailors have died in the past 2 months off California. This is exceptionally high, but it does show that there is real danger.

                Ok, so those weren't professional racing teams. See the video here: http://www.americascup.com/en/Latest/Blog/2011/8/The-Death-Zone/ That boat weighs 25 tons. That takes a lot of energy to moveit around like that. The only reason people weren't badly injured being thrown through the rigging is luck. The only reason people didn't die was because there were support boats right there.

                Even "taking a swim" is far riskier than you might suppose. If there's not someone there to immediately pull you out (such as in an open water race), hypothermia sets in within 15 minutes and can easily kill you within an hour.

                [–]cheesesaurous 1 point2 points ago

                The amount of force the boat is harnessing to propel it through the water makes an F1 car look like a tricycle. When things break it can go very poorly for those aboard. People lose fingers just for holding onto a line when it happens to snap. Also, yacht racing in general is a pretty dangerous sport due to the unpredictability of the wind/ocean and distance from help. F1 is dangerous too, but I've never heard of an F1 race where 25 cars were lost and 15 people died.

                [–]GeeBee72 1 point2 points ago

                It sounds like you've never sailed before. Even in a smaller boat, doing say 20 knots you can be dead in a moment if a mistake happens.

                [–]Fhajad 0 points1 point ago

                My favorite part about F1 is you HAVE to go fast around corners. You don't have the option of going slow.

                [–]GeeBee72 0 points1 point ago

                Also, just because F1 drivers are ballsy doesn't mean other sports can't be ballsy too! Take HALO skydiving, ballsy as hell, but it doesn't take away from the courage F1 drivers need to blast through an off camber hairpin pulling 3 G's of lateral load.

                Just different sports which require ballsy people.

                load more comments (4 replies)

                  [–]Cactus_Fucked 0 points1 point ago

                  This is one of those things where I get the imagery of Barbosa in my head riding the ship into the maelstrom in pirates of the Caribbean shouting at the crew that we have some serious boat shit to do, that requires the minimum amount of boat in the water as possible.

                  [–]razor3210 0 points1 point ago

                  Saw these boats in plymouth for the America cup. They are phenominal peices of engineering and the guys controlling them are incredibly skilled.

                  [–]shenanigins 0 points1 point ago

                  I believe the new ones are only 10 meters, this one is 30meters. There are also many more boats in contention because of this. Sadly, they are all crewed by kiwi's, and Dennis Connors (Fuck that guy).

                  [–]Newt29er 0 points1 point ago

                  What you saw in plymouth were 45 foot catamarans called "AC45's" The AC45's are smaller training versions of the 72 foot catamarans (AC72's) that will be raced in the Americas Cup in 2013. The first AC72's will hit the water this summer.

                  The boat in this picture was raced in the previous America's Cup in 2010. It's a one of a kind 90 foot trimaran that goes by many names. (BMW Oracle, USA17, BOR) It was raced against Alinghi 5, which was a Swiss catamaran of similar size.

                  Here's a picture of both Alinghi 5 (foreground) and USA17 (background) racing in the 33rd America's Cup.

                  [–]olafthebent 0 points1 point ago

                  Yep... big, wet, and damned fast balls

                  [–]BunsTown 0 points1 point ago

                  I'm sure this design has something to do with going fast, and being able to turn like crazy etc....
                  But if I were a boat designer, this situation I would consider a design flaw. I would think "I need to make it so the boat does not come out of the water at 45degrees."

                  [–]1877 4 points5 points ago

                  It's vastly reducing friction from the water and therefore increasing (or at least not decreasing) overall speed. That's generally a good thing when you're racing.

                  [–]K2TheM 0 points1 point ago

                  The beauty of a Trimaran is in it's design. The OP photo is running a bit high for optimum speed. Ideally you want all hulls but the leeward (the hull on the opposite side of the sail and thus in the water) to be just out of the water. This vastly reduces the about of friction acting on the boat. This makes them very very fast when compared to a typical mono-hull or even a catamaran.

                  [–]pingspike 0 points1 point ago

                  Casual jack up there... Sailing the shit outa that thing.

                  Boat? yeah.. Water ? pfft..

                  [–]seriouslyyours 0 points1 point ago

                  Is this the same boat that a spiffy gent walked down and dove off of (mid-turn)?

                  [–]Slowhand09 0 points1 point ago

                  Are you thinking of the Hugo Boss advert? If so, different boat.

                  [–]usedtowork 0 points1 point ago

                  USA 17 4eva

                  [–]ymahaguy3388 0 points1 point ago

                  What in the serious fuck is going on?! Pants would be shat.

                  [–]weaver2109 0 points1 point ago

                  The Klingons have arrived.

                  [–]reallifedog 0 points1 point ago

                  there's a video around here somewhere. goosebumps of awesomeness. That craft is incredible.

                  [–]numlock 0 points1 point ago

                  Is he actually steering the sail somehow or just clinging onto the wheel?

                  [–]namegoeswhere 0 points1 point ago

                  I was lucky enough to be part of a regatta that included quite a few boats training for the America's Cup. The USA 87 (a previous BMW Oracle yacht) was one of the members. It was amazing seeing this massive thing slice through the water. Made our 12 knots look like we were standing still.

                  [–]Reeeeeen 0 points1 point ago

                  Hmmm I'm bored of sailing today lets pretend I'm a pilot weeeeeeeeeeeee

                  [–]k736ra4kil8haxvaogmu 0 points1 point ago

                  This is actually perfectly normal in these sailing races.

                  [–]yafeelzmeh 0 points1 point ago

                  I can't wait for the cup!!!!!

                  [–]Ballsey 0 points1 point ago

                  Yes?

                  [–]I_WIN_DEAL_WITH_IT 0 points1 point ago

                  They should be careful. They're getting their plane wet.

                  [–]grungevalue 0 points1 point ago

                  This looks like something from treasure planet.

                  [–]gamerwithnoname 0 points1 point ago

                  The reason it is staying balanced is because of the guy on the ends abnormally massive balls

                  [–]Grazk 0 points1 point ago

                  My uncle designs the mast for oracle it's freaking awesome.

                  [–]cbrown222 0 points1 point ago

                  Awesome picture! My Uncle actually helped build that boat, really interesting. It eventually did get a solid wing instead of a sail, the wing had a carbon fiber skeleton and basically had saran wrap over the rest.

                  [–]tclipse 0 points1 point ago

                  I would freaking love the opportunity to drive/steer/captain this.... except, chances are, I would not survive.

                  [–]myrpou 0 points1 point ago

                  Then that guy knicked som paintings.

                  [–]worldbeast 0 points1 point ago

                  What this is: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/08/ff_americascup/2/

                  [–]Benzur 0 points1 point ago

                  "Waterworld... mother fucka"

                  [–]Mr_Wrathgar 0 points1 point ago

                  Trimaran's are amazing.

                  [–]AzureBlu 0 points1 point ago

                  Water? Where we're going, we don't need.. water.

                  [–]blowbackpolicy 0 points1 point ago

                  I think that's Pierce Brosnan driving.

                  [–]unoriginalsin 0 points1 point ago

                  Driving is something you do to a team of animals. Pierce is piloting that vessel.

                  [–]zalapa89 0 points1 point ago

                  Is this the same kind of boat that was in the video where the guy stood on the fin while the boat was tipped?

                  [–]TheContrarian2 0 points1 point ago

                  That's crazy! I've seen guys do that on small rigs, but this is huge. That guy must be at least 30' over the water!

                  [–]jorellh 0 points1 point ago

                  looks like a bird of prey

                  [–]Nutshell38 0 points1 point ago

                  How tall is that thing?

                  [–]DamnBiggun 0 points1 point ago

                  Too many posts; couldn't read

                  But tell me this, what in the hell is his steering wheel attached to?

                  [–]Dubious_Dinobot 0 points1 point ago

                  I'm sure the skipper's lean is making a big difference.

                  [–]b-fish 0 points1 point ago

                  Firefighters would call this a "hard left"

                  [–]whycantiregister 0 points1 point ago

                  That boat has nothing on this: http://www.hydroptere.com/

                  load more comments (27 replies)

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