Oracle's New AC72 Catamaran Coming This Month
Launch and Testing of Team USA's First Race Yacht for 2013: Press Release

August, 2012

Wing is ready. Photo:©2012 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA
 

Preparing to test-lift. Photo:©2012 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA

Going up. Photo:©2012 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA
 

From the Team, Tuesday, August 28:
Oracle Team USA has started the countdown to launching its first AC72 wingsailed catamaran this week. A Media Day is planned for Friday 31 August, the first scheduled sailing day for the boat that will play a central role in the San Francisco team's bid to win the America's Cup again next year. Today, the giant 12 story high wing was lifted at Pier 80 in a successful test of the new ground handling systems.

"This was one tick in a very long check-list of essential steps before the boat can go into the water,"� said Mark Turner, shore manager.

Upgrading from the identical one-design AC45s used during last week's America's Cup World Series event in San Francisco is going to be no small order; the AC72 is more complex, more powerful and entirely custom designed and built by Oracle Team USA.

"Compared to the AC45, the AC72 is twice as long, five times as powerful and 100 times more complex,"� explained Dirk Kramers, one of the 25 strong design team who has worked for two years on the team's first boats. "It will also be 25% faster, capable of speeds over 40 knots (45 mph)."�

Constructed entirely from carbon fiber, the AC72 hulls were built at the team's base in Pier 80, San Francisco. The cross beams connecting the two hulls, wingsail, appendages (rudders and lifting daggerboards) and other key structures were made in New Zealand by Core Builders Composites.

"This is one of the most intricately detailed racing boats ever built,"  commented Tim Smyth of CBC.

Not only this, but it is also one of the most dramatic looking. The next step for the team is to lift and fit the 130-foot wingsail onto the hull. Once preliminary checks on shore are complete, the boat then touches Bay water for the very first time. The myriad mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems that control the steering, wing and sails have to be tested, and before sailing is attempted a team of engineers and boatbuilders must sign off on the structure after a series of structural and data read-outs are approved. The first sail is scheduled for Friday, subject to constant review.
 

Oracle's AC72 sees some daylight.  Photo:©2012 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA
 

From the Team: Wednesday, August 29
The first dry-fit of the 12 story-high wingsail on the platform of the Oracle Team USA's AC72 boat was completed at Pier 80 today. The AC72, the first of two yachts to be used in the 2013 Defender Trials and America's Cup, saw the hook-up of the myriad electrical, mechanical and hydraulic systems as the engineers, boatbuilders and designers worked through the extensive "pre-flight" check-list. The complex process of commissioning the AC72 is continuing, but because of the scale of the project and inevitable uncertainties, the team has decided to delay the Media Day until after the Labor Day weekend. The date and details will be confirmed early next week.

Follow progress of the AC72 on at: www.facebook.com/OracleRacingTeam and www.oracleteamusa.com.
 

 Photo:©2012 Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA
 

--From Oracle Team USA