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Mainsail Planform Optimization

december 8, 2015

Synopsis

While numerous IRC 52s have been optimized to sail under the IRC handicapping formula after competing under the TP52 Rule, few if any, have started the optimization process prior to their initial launch. In the winter of 2011 however, an opportunity to perform a comprehensive optimization effort in the early design stages was provided with the only initial constraint being the use of an existing female mould from which a pair of TP52 had already been produced.

This ultimately proved to be an excellent starting point as one of these original TP52s, Quantum Racing, would go on to win the 2011 Audi Med Cup Series. Among the various lines of the optimization effort, the design team from Botin Partners proposed a study to identify an alternative mainsail planform that might offer upwind performance advantages under the IRC rule; that investigation is the focus of this white paper.

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The Discussion

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