Drive kite-powered yachts with the aim of being the fastest in the world
Members of the SP80 team are challenging the world’s voyage speed records off the coast of southern France, sweeping through the water on triple hull yachts pulled by a giant kit.
The SP80’s Three-Hull (Trimaran) design prioritizes stability and reduced drag.
“There’s nothing to make in the end except you’re proud to achieve that,” says co-founder Benoit Gaudiot, who is also one of the boat pilots.
The SP80 team’s goal is 65.45 knots (75 mph or more), and in 2012 Paul Larsen was mounted on the Vestas Sale Rocket 2 off the coast of Namibia.
Current world record holders Paul Larsen and Vestas Seiracket 2.
The SP80 team is inspired by Sailrocket’s design, particularly the supern-shaped foil that allows yachts to overcome “what really resembles the sound barriers of airplanes,” says Gaudiot.
The “cavitation barrier” prevents the boat from accelerating beyond 55 knots (63.3 mph) due to the accumulation of air bubbles in the foil. The foil was also the point of the maximum drag of a boat, so it required a lot of precise engineering to create the foil, saying “theoretically, there is no speed limit as long as there is a force to stabilize the boat and push it even further,” Gaudiot says.
The boat’s Supern-shaped hydrofoil is stuck to the water, adding stability and helping to overcome the “cavitation barrier.”
Two pilots operate the boat, one focusing on steering and the other focusing on the control of the kite propelling the boat. Boats are made to move in a straight line, like a drag race, rather than zaging the wind. SAILGP.
Rules for breaking the world’s voyage speed records require that the average speeds above 500 meters are the highest, and only the wind is used as an energy source on at least one person’s board.
The SP80 has reached a top speed of 58 knots (approximately 67 mph) so far.
The SP80 ultimately hopes to break 80 knots with a kite-powered boat design. Beyond that, the SP80 admits that the boat itself is of little use to anyone who wants anything other than breaking the world record. However, in other markets, such as hydroelectric power, marine transport, and, of course, boat racing, some of your team’s technology may have useful applications.
To see the SP80 team and their kite-powered yachts working, check out the video in this article.