There must be something in the air in Michigan as the ‘new kids’ at Composite Builders add their name to the grand prix sailing directory

Building with advanced composites is no longer a simple matter of combining cloth and resin in a mould, pulling a vacuum and post-curing the laminate, followed by filling, fairing and finishing. The demands of the grand prix marketplace are relentless, with pressure to improve on design and shave off every gram of weight while retaining strength, durability and appearance in the ultimate challenge to marry form and function.

There are surprisingly few practitioners who combine modern high-tech composite fabrication with hands-on experience of sailing at the top level. Similarly, some of the greatest build talent is rarely seen in ‘daylight’, spending whole careers hidden in America’s Cup programmes, pushing their skill sets to the edge in this ultra-competitive arena. Now some of that elite-level composites – and sailing – talent has been unleashed to offer high-end composite solutions for any application in grand prix sailing.

Founded by Brian MacInnes in Holland, Michigan, Composite Builders have been perfecting what MacInnes (now CEO) has learnt over two decades from sailing and project management of the Windquest race programmes in the Maxi, 1D48 and 50ft classes of the 1990s, through six cycles of the America’s Cup and two of the Volvo Ocean Race. His hands-on experience has given him a strong background in the construction of tooling, lamination of structures and their components, performance testing and system maintenance. He has supplemented these practical skills with study of polymers and their application within the aerospace industry.

Production manager Jon Holstrom also brings two decades of Whitbread and America’s Cup experience to Composite Builders, including being lead boatbuilder in the 2000 cycle for Prada. He was part of the Oracle 2017 campaign but left last year to join MacInnes and return to his native Michigan.

This background has prompted Composite Builders to equip their shop with the equipment and staff to deliver the following:

• 5-axis and 3-axis CNC machining and mould manufacture
• Custom and production run vacuum, oven and autoclaved parts
• Pre-preg composite construction
• Autoclave and pressure vessel curing
• Fracture mechanics testing
• Innovative and wide-ranging product testing facilities

Being sailors, the team at Composite Builders can also be mobile and offer on-site composite services wherever they may be needed. And dealing with diverse projects, from architecture to aerospace, they have become adept at using a variety of advanced materials to best match design and function. These include the latest advanced carbon materials as well as other high- performance fibres. With the exception of pre-pregs, all other fibres are reinforced with high- quality resins including bio and fire-retardant resin materials.

In the short time Composite Builders have been open for business they have been busy with projects across the military, marine, energy, recreation and architectural fields… anywhere, in fact, where composite parts of exceptional quality, durability and strength are of benefit, with some custom designs and some short production runs.

A focus on precision (above): Composite Builders’ range of work already extends across a remarkable range of applications, from custom prosthetics for the Winter Paralympics pentathletes (below) with their carefully developed aerodynamics to high pressure and very lightweight carbon hydraulic tanks for Harken – for whom this relatively young company also already provides a diverse spread of other key composite components including sheaves and high-load winch drums. Being located close to the home base of one of the two main backers of the latest New York YC America’s Cup challenge cannot hurt their chances either of being a part of the AC75 ‘experience’ for the next Cup in 2021

For example, when fabricating carbon fibre tanks for Harken’s hydraulic systems, or carbon components for their high-end winch systems, not only do these systems need to meet Harken’s famously exacting specifications, they must also be delivered to the rigorous timelines of a fast-moving and evolving major client.

Composite Builders also manufacture composite components for Ocean 1 Yacht Tenders, who produce some of the lightest, strongest and most efficient custom tenders on the market.

They have supplied carbon fibre turbine blades for kinetic hydropower systems, where each part’s integrity and reliability is vital to its function and safety.

The US Paralympic Nordic skiing team relies on Composite Builders to build innovative carbon sit-skis for 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Carbon parts from Composite Builders are also used in aerospace: both to reduce the weight and lengthen the productive time of industrial inspection aircraft, and for the Kittyhawk Aerospace Company’s Aero Flyer, an innovative personal aircraft dubbed ‘the easiest and most accessible aircraft ever made’.

With this background, capability and expertise, Composite Builders are ready for any project with demanding specifications. So don’t be surprised to see this shop in remote western Michigan becoming the latest addition to the map of the grand prix sailing industry. And, with Doug DeVos, backer of the New York YC challenge for the 36th America’s Cup, living just around the corner, who knows what Cup builds could be on the horizon…

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It is no great surprise that when fast-growing Australian performance clothing innovators Zhik turned their attention to the creation of a new high-performing offshore seaboot the result would be a little different…

It wasn’t the best of legs for Team AkzoNobel. Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race was a 6,500-mile sleigh ride through the Southern Ocean from Cape Town to Melbourne. Things went wrong for the Dutch crew when they mistimed a gybe in strong winds and big rolling seas. Laying the boat on its side out of the gybe led to damage to the mainsail battens and the mast track and forced the crew to make running repairs while trying to maintain as much speed as they could.

It’s at times like these that you want everything working in your favour, which is why Team AkzoNobel – as well as Dongfeng Race Team, who finished second on this leg – opted for Zhik as their technical apparel partner. Recently voted Best in Class by Yachting Monthly magazine in the UK and Dutch sailing magazine Waterkampioen, Zhik’s ZK Seaboots don’t look like anything else on the market. In fact, Zhik’s design team started with a blank slate to come up with something that looks and performs quite differently in several key respects.

Uppers
After reviewing the evolving requirements of the modern offshore sailor, Zhik set about developing a new boot type, using a combination of sealed neoprene and soft rubber construction, with glued and blind-stitched seams plus additional seam tape reinforcement to provide 100 per cent waterproof protection from the elements. Drue Kerr, Zhik production manager and senior designer, was lead designer on the ZK SeaBoots project. ‘Based on our research and conversations with experienced offshore sailors, our seaboots value dryness over breathability.

‘Breathable boots tend to suffer from a well-known issue… they leak easily and trap water between the membranes. In fact, they can they stay wet and heavy for an “unpleasantly” long time. This then limits the thermal insulation they can provide when wet. So we went down the route of achieving dryness above all else.’

Neoprene was chosen over leather for its non-absorbence and insulation qualities. The neoprene is used in combination with rubber for foot protection, support and durability. Seams are glued, blindstitched and seam-taped to ensure they are waterproof. A strong rubber outer wraps over the lower boot and foot for protection and foot support, and the sealed neoprene uppers extend up the leg like a snug-fitting, warm sock, designed to fit closely over base layers and leggings.

The boots have additional waterproof gaiters which are worn over the trousers to reduce water douses up the leg from waves; these in turn integrate with Zhik’s Isotak ocean and offshore trousers and Aroshell coastal trousers.

The gaiters are secured with a draw cord and, in anticipation of any water draining down inside the gaiters, a perforated neoprene gusset in the lower section ensures the gaiters are rapidly self-draining, preventing any water collection. Silicone grips on the front of the boot uppers hold the gaiters and trousers in place.

Additional detailing in the construction includes hi-viz strips to help crew identification at night as well as handy reinforced handles to aid speedy kitting up, a welcome feature at the moment of that AkzoNobel crash gybe in the Southern Ocean…

Soles
Zhik’s patented non-marking sole is used extensively in the company’s footwear for its ultimate grip on a range of wet deck surfaces from non-slip grip to high-gloss varnish. This soft, bendy, rubber sole has a dense zigzag grip which is designed to dispel water to the outside as soon as the foot makes contact with the deck. This avoids the aquaplaning effect and allows for the super-grippy rubber to take full effect on the surface.

Above: to many sailors the immediate distinguishing feature of the new Zhik boot is the move away from a breathable core fabric to a system which prioritises keeping the water out. A breathable fabric is very effective in minimising the build-up of sweat, but conversely once it is wet it can stay that way for a long time. A poll of experienced offshore racers encouraged this switch of emphasis towards keeping the sea out in the first place; with the sweat build-up being dealt with differently, using the company’s latest and now well proven wicking systems

The sole grip is extended up over the toes and wraps around the heel to provide additional non-slip grip. For offshore crews this is essential to prevent sliding around on deck when working on your knees during a sail change or running across a coachroof or cockpit.

Bart Milczarczyk, Zhik’s global head of design, explained the development process that went into developing the seaboot sole. ‘The rubber compound was engineered by Zhik R&D staff. We tested this in a lab and then in the real world onboard, a process that took over 18 months.

‘The lab testing consisted of cutting up lots of shoes to create specimens. We tested footwear from our competitors in the marine industry and outdoor market. The rubber was analysed by lab technicians to understand the connection between rubber formula, grip pattern and rubber hardness. From this we began to build a picture of which variables worked best. Once one aspect was defined we repeated the same tests with different variables, with the aim of creating the ideal balance of grip, hardness and durability.

‘In terms of grip pattern the Dunlop Volley tennis shoes – which are popular with roof tilers in Australia – proved to have a great pattern. We then produced various tools to define the best combination of rubber and grip pattern. We also carried out extensive abrasion testing. This accumulated knowledge brought us to the final design seen in the ZKs. It’s the highest-grip sole in the wet, which doesn’t mark the deck and also offers excellent durability for daily wear. (As an industry innovator Zhik has to take particular care to protect its intellectual property and the ZK sole is now patent protected.)

‘Once we had the lab testing knowledge we were able to create various items for on-the-water in-use testing. This on-the-water development process went on for a further eight months before we were happy with the final product.’

The midsole
For those (many) sailors who suffer from cold feet or poor circulation inside the boot there is an 8mm neoprene midsole concealed under a supportive EVA inner sole, for enduring comfort and insulation on cold decks. This inner sole also features a moulded heel and arch support to keep the foot securely in place as you move around onboard. The combination of soft, bendy ZK sole and neoprene uppers ensure total flexibility and maximum agility around the deck.

Inners
ZK Seaboots are fully lined with Hydromerino, Zhik’s proprietary weave consisting of a quick-drying merino/polyester blended fabric, which provides additional warmth, moisture management and natural odour control. The lining material was developed as a result of tests with Zhik’s base layer ranges, made from merino and their own Superthermal Hydrobase (base layer). Like the Superthermal Hydrobase, the material activates with moisture to wick water away from the skin while the merino element adds warmth and natural antibacterial qualities to the lining.

After such an exhaustive development process Drue Kerr is relieved the Seaboot has been so well received by top sailors. ‘This product unearthed countless design challenges so it is incredibly satisfying to see such a successful result at the end of the process.’

Lisa Blair – ice queen
Last year Australian adventurer Lisa Blair set out to become the first woman to circumnavigate Antarctica – solo, non-stop and unassisted. However, when the rig came down on her Open 50 after 71 days at sea, she was forced to pull out of the record attempt.

Despite, or perhaps because of this setback, she really appreciated her Zhik clothing in such extreme conditions. Lisa was one of the first to trial the ZK Seaboot 800. ‘Zhik’s grippy lightweight ZK Seaboot 800 can be worn the entire trip, it is lightweight and easy to manoeuvre around in. The boots might feel tight at first but they will stretch; so my advice is to fit them so they are comfy and they’ll expand for a sock.

‘I didn’t take any other shoes and I didn’t have to worry about odours; even if I sweated in the neoprene they didn’t smell. The gaiter works really well too, even when I was chest high in water none ever got inside the boots!’

Click here for more information on Zhik »

North Sails’ year-end debrief generated a tech-fest of ideas, from Super Series TP52s, complete with 3Di RAW 880 sails, to AC50s in Bermuda

Over the last 12 months sailors have broken new ground and set incredible new performance benchmarks in many different parts of the sport. From the recordbreaking round-the-world endeavours of French heroes such as Thomas Coville, Armel Le Cléac’h and, most recently, François Gabart, to LDV Comanche taking line honours in the 2017 Sydney Hobart in a new record time – the common thread between all these achievements is that North Sails 3Di technology has provided the power behind the headlines.

Aside from the news-grabbing offshore successes, 3Di continues to be first choice for the majority of grand prix inshore campaigns, particularly in the TP52 class, arguably the most competitive of all inshore racing circuits. This year the TP52 is attracting America’s Cup talent such as Sir Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR and Patrizio Bertelli’s Luna Rossa Challenge. More than ever the battle for TP52 glory will come down to a game of inches that demands every last drop of performance from sailors and their equipment.

North Sails responded to the unceasingly high demands of the TP52 class by developing 3Di RAW; the latest iteration of that product is a high-carbon 3Di tape called RAW 880. As technical director of North Materials Bill Pearson explains, ‘For 880 we increased the carbon fibre content by roughly 12 per cent. The additional carbon increases resistance to stretch, meaning a sail holds its shape better both locally in gusts and over time as well.

‘Because the professional TP52 crews are operating at a very high level and look after their sails well they are more than capable of taking care of these sails in the way that the extra carbon content of 880 requires.’

Because RAW 880 is such a solid, low-stretch product the trimmers have been able to adapt their approach. ‘We’ve produced a product that really helps lock in the sail shapes so the trimmers on the boat become much more active,’ says JB Braun, design services director at North Sails and project leader for 3Di.

‘They are in control of the shapes a lot more. In sail design what the trimmers are trying to do is really defy physics – as a puff comes along the sails load up more and want to become fuller at just the point where the trimmer wants to flatten them out. RAW 880 has given the trimmer better control over the sail shapes as well as a better ability to change gears through the wind range.’

Big steps forward like RAW 880 can only come from combining the vast pool of knowledge and experience that resides in North lofts all around the world. With the company’s designers working on cutting-edge projects from the America’s Cup to the Vendée Globe, and the RC44 and TP52 circuits along with many others, there are always vital lessons to be taken from one sphere of the sport and transferred to another.

In order to accelerate and consolidate this knowledge sharing, North Sails brought together the best of the best to share their latest findings at a round-table discussion forum in Minden, Nevada, at the facility where all the 3Di sails are constructed. Braun says it is a privilege to be part of such a focused group of sail designers all operating at the extreme limits of development. ‘It is a very wideranging discussion where we share expertise and feedback in many different areas of the racing scene, including the established classes like the TP52, RC44 and Maxi72 fleets, as well as emerging classes like the Melges 40 and ClubSwan 50. There are so many fascinating and useful insights from this meeting that I think you can only get from these face-to-face collaborative sessions.’

The two-day agenda for Minden included a deep discussion about the complementary fields of software development and product engineering, two areas where the pace of change remains very rapid. ‘Bringing the best people together like this really does help accelerate the learning curve for all of us,’ says Braun. ‘In many cases it helps validate that you’re already moving in the right direction with your thinking, but of course there are those nuggets that other people bring, with alternative ways of looking at a problem, and it gets you thinking about trying out different ideas when you return to your own projects.’

One thing that modern technology – and the North Sails Design Suite (NDS) in particular – have improved is the speed of designing a new sail. Whereas in the past the development process may have involved a number of sail designs and recuts to work your way towards the optimum shape, the R&D process today is so much more sophisticated that getting to the ideal sail is much quicker.

Bill Pearson: ‘The tools we use today have been developed over the last several decades, and the 3Di manufacturing process is now efficiently integrated into a whole system of design and simulation tools. The North Design Suite takes an order for a new sail and is then able to take the plan of the boat and go all the way through the sail design itself, modelling the sail’s performance against design and construction variants.

‘We are now also able to input the actual material that the sail’s built out of and simulate the deformation of the sail membrane under different load cases in the software, to get an accurate representation of the way the sail will actually set on the water.

‘Then you are able to analyse those shapes and develop a force and moment table that can then run simulations in a velocity prediction programme which you can merge with the hydrodynamic forces. At this point you are in a position to identify an aero-hydro balance where you start understanding the detail trade-offs and what you can do aerodynamically and the resulting effects on performance.

Above: better than any school trip most of us got to go on… Per Andersson (below), recently appointed head of North Sails’ whole 3D operation, here having fun showing off the manufacturing magic he has at his disposal to guests at North’s sophisticated 3D plant in Minden, Nevada, during the company’s international tech-fest. Andersson’s co-host in Minden was grand prix sails head Paul ‘Flipper’ Westlake – more usually found on the mainsheet of one of the world’s top raceboats

‘It’s the North Design Suite that makes it possible for that to happen. The tools in the Suite are the individual programs that combine seamlessly to work as one and provide answers to questions of performance as they relate to the aerodynamics, in terms of building, designing and finally trimming sails. The standout aspect of the Suite is this ability of the programs to work in harmony with all the tools integrated into one output, the result of which is an increase in sail performance.’

Aside from his work on more conventional types of racing sailboats, Braun has been heavily involved with Oracle Team USA in recent years including the Bermuda 2017 Cup defence. While the foiling AC50 catamarans of Bermuda might seem a world apart from the more conventional TP52 keelboats, Braun says there is still some useful knowledge transfer. ‘One of the parallels would be trimming to leeway. The TP52 tends to have high levels of leeway because the keels are very high aspect and optimised for low-drag VMG upwind and downwind, and the hulls are also optimised for a delicate balance of power and low drag.

‘The AC50s experienced large amounts of leeway, even more than a TP52, depending on how they were positioned on the racecourse. The varying amounts of leeway drastically affect how you trim the sails. When boats have higher leeway numbers your sheeting angles tend to be narrower and you have to design your sail shapes accordingly. In that sense there are some interesting parallels to be drawn between two types of boat that at first sight appear to have very little in common.’

The leeway example illustrates that though the sail designer appears only interested in what goes on above the surface, Braun says you can only do your job properly when you also understand what’s also going on below the surface. ‘To do the best job aerodynamically as a sail designer you need to know the specifics about the hydrodynamics; and properly understanding the leeway and the performance of the boat then drives you down different directions for the sails themselves.’

Outside the America’s Cup few classes are testing the edges of technology quite like the TP52 fleet. With 10 of the 13 boats on the 2018 circuit set to use 3Di technology it’s going to be another fascinating season of discovery and development for Braun, Pearson and all their colleagues around the world at North Sails.

Click here for more information on North Sails »

When the Solaris team applied their 44 years of high-end boatbuilding experience to upping the game in the mid-sized performance cruiser market the result was something rather special… Italian, of course!

Looks good, doesn’t she? Easy on the eye. It’s difficult to know exactly why but she just looks… right. A sort of understated elegance that whispers style, comfort and control, while at the same time suggesting performance, an unspoken promise of power. The new Solaris 55 was developed by Solaris Yachts’ in-house technical team with naval architecture input from Argentinian designer Javier Soto Acebal.

Since being founded in 1974 in Aquileia, moments from the lagoons of Venice, the Solaris shipyard has successfully mastered the blend of studied, elegant comfort with the sort of performance that reminds us that it’s good to be alive and here at the wheel. In its long story Solaris has worked with many top designers including the late Franz Maas, Sparkman & Stephens, Doug Peterson, Bill Tripp and now Soto Acebal.

One of the other designs currently in build at Solaris is a new light-displacement Maxi72-styled Wally 93, which also perhaps explains some visible aesthetic parallels between the two houses.

The Italian yard is now among the biggest composite production facilities in Europe and to date has produced over 200 yachts between 37 and 68ft. An impressive range of manufacturing equipment includes an oven of up to 130ft – Solaris has completed several carbon luxury yachts of between 80 and 120ft.

This company also understands that its loyal owners want the ability to sail shorthanded, or with family and friends who are perhaps not seasoned sailors. To that end, all the sail controls on the new 55 are kept within reach of the two wheels and there’s an optional self-tacking jib to make upwind sailing as stress-free as possible. A simple, but effective, sailing package was at the heart of the team’s latest brief – while respecting the Solaris lineage in terms of performance and aesthetics.

The brief for each new Solaris model usually begins with just a displacement figure and an LOA, with which the design team then start to work out how much of the displacement can end up below the waterline in the search for the optimal hull shape.

For the new 55 the designers opted early on for a high prismatic coefficient, with generous hull volume fore and aft to avoid the need for excessive width midships to meet form stability targets. Some flare was then incorporated in the upper bow sections for reserve buoyancy, the flare carrying aft to increase interior volume. One drawback with hull flare can be the increase in wetted surface with heel, but with so much form stability the designers could recover any losses by reducing the keel weight for the same stability with a commensurate reduction in displacement.

With such a powerful hull, twin rudders were considered essential, resulting in a yacht that is easy to steer and, importantly, that is also kind in terms of power demand when under autopilot. With the light helm the team also dispensed with a main traveller – safer for the uninitiated guest and freeing up considerable cockpit space.

The boat demonstrates a distinctly modern appearance and the team feel they have set some new benchmarks in terms of both performance and styling with their latest baby. A contemporary reverse bow is nicely balanced by the aggressive vertical transom, with rig and appendages – including the dramatic forwardraked keel fin – positioned notably far aft for a boat of this type.

Above: not your typical production yard… this is the hull of the new all-carbon lightweight Wally 93 emerging from the split mould at Solaris last year, and (below) a step back in the history of this Italian builder as Rod Stephens (at left) oversees the detailed deck design for the 1979 IOR Two Tonner Rupe. And then for something a little different at the other end of the spectrum (bottom): this is the Doug Peterson designed Solaris 72 Kamana which recently completed a global circumnavigation via the Northwest Passage

One reason for this aft set rig/appendage package is to allow the larger genoas that Acebal and the Solaris team favour for designs where there is a focus on good performance without too much sail changing. Add to that mix plenty of stowage on deck and below, because Solaris owners like their toys and their luxuries, and you’ve got a fairly compelling performance cruising package.

In all of the yachts it builds Solaris makes full use of its access to relatively specialised construction methods at its long established yard. Over 44 years these methods have become tried, refined and well tested. This is why Solaris can seemingly make quite bold construction choices with confidence for the end product.

One example of this is an above-average use of composites for a yacht of this type with composite/metallic bonds and mechanical connections kept to the minimum. All Solaris chainplates are now composite – one reason being to minimise mixing materials with different mechanical properties that will inevitably ‘work’ differently under load.

All transverse and longitudinal floors are externally laminated and cured before being bonded into the hull with intersections reinforced using unidirectional fibres, creating a hugely strong primary structure. In fact, unidirectional fibres are used extensively throughout the Solaris range, especially in high load areas around the keel floors, mast step, rudder posts and chainplates. By carefully linking key load areas and employing robust 40mm foam-cored bulkheads and similarly light, but strong interior panels, the yard creates a single laminate structure of enormous strength; in terms of torsional and global rigidity the resulting deflections are more typical of a large racing yacht (though rather more robust and durable…).

Acebal himself is pleased with this collaboration… ‘I sailed the standard boat in Varazze and we’re very happy with her, she’s really fast for a luxury cruiser with this level of onboard comforts. Of course there are clients who want even more power, so we have regatta options including a different keel, carbon rudders, a lighter carbon transom door, different sail dimensions and so on!

‘When you combine all those elements in one simple, elegant boat, the result can be very pleasant…’

It’s clear that even after 44 years Solaris remains determined to go its own way. This Italian shipyard always backs itself and likes to do things just a little differently. Amen to that.

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