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Racing Designs |
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 IRC
55ft “Aera/Bribon” 2003 - Winner of all seven inshore
races at Admirals Cup + the IRC Nationals + Cowes Week including the Britannia Cup + RORC’s Myth of Malham offshore race.
The yacht was designed for a client who wanted agenuine all-rounder, a Grand Prix racing yacht with true offshore capability fully optimised for IRC and configurable to race competitively under IMS. Built by Acheson and Rossa in Cape Town, South Africa to a design by Ker Associates Ltd., the main features of the yacht are as follows: Principal Dimensions (approximate)
SP Technologies engineered the hull structures with the hull being built from post-cured, wet-preg carbon and epoxy on a closed-cell foam core. Male plug construction was done from CNC cut frames with control files supplied direct from the design office to ensure a high degree of accuracy. This approach combined with high quality lamination minimised the need for fairing compound and ensured the hull was built to its design weight. Unusually for a Grand Prix yacht of this size the yacht also features two watertight bulkheads. These were specified to give the yacht true offshore capability and will be of further reassurance on short-handed delivery trips around the globe. The interior makes efficient use of the space with careful consideration given to sail stowage and crew sleeping arrangements. It also features a fully enclosed head and saloon table with seating. Attention to detail is evident throughout from the custom made galley stove to the sliding navigators seat. For the nav station Ker Associates consulted a renowned professional navigator and designed the area to be usable in all conditions and to make the most of the latest technology available. This attention to detail is echoed above decks where input from the yachts crew and knowledge from the last Volvo Ocean Race were used to optimise the deck layout which is clean and uncluttered in every area. Aluminium fairleads replace spinnaker guy turning blocks and the innovative bow fitting leads the tack line back below the forestay fitting and load cell. Press Comments on the Ker 55: “On Friday and Saturday, Aera had scored six straight wins,
beating the established big boats with ease. Quick on the water
and for her handicap rating, Aera’s dominance will concern
the Farr 52s ahead of July Admiral’s Cup,” “One of the most exciting boats to arrive on the Solent
this year has been the 55 footer Aera. The past few weeks have
seen her blow the IRC fleet apart. On her first outing Aera won
RORC’s Myth of Malham offshore race and then she took the
battle inshore by winning the IRC nationals in IRC Super Zero
by 12 points and victorious in six of the races in the process.”
“…this boat was always going to be competitive, but
even blind men walking their guide dogs on Gurnard beach could
see that the Ker was simply faster on the water than the 52s.”
This design was built in Ireland for an Irish client and designed specifically to fit into the rating band for class racing at his home club. It benefited from knowledge gained developing Aera. Principal Dimensions (approximate) Key features of the design are as follows:
The 11.3 is an exciting, third generation 38ft IRM yacht that is also highly competitive under IRC. It's also aimed at becoming a successful international one design with a full racing circuit that will be a serious challenger for the future Admirals’s Cup selection. Features of the yacht include an easily removable keel with a maintenance free hull to keel joint, choice of wheel or tiller steering and an unconventional interior, utilising hi-tech materials, optimised for offshore as well as inshore racing. See also www.u2canrace1.com for further details and images.
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The
hull-form was optimised with a detailed tank-testing programme
accompanied by extensive CFD simulations to finalise foil and
bulb shapes. The result is a clean, easily driven hull-form with
a high displacement to ballast ratio.
