How SailGP Keeps the Boats From Breaking
The Australia SailGP team members experienced this firsthand just before the start of Race 7 of the Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix in March, when the wing sail of their foiling F50 catamaran collapsed. No one was hurt, but an investigation revealed a construction problem affecting multiple boats.
SailGP, which owns and maintains the league's 12 identical F50s, began to fix the problem. This included investigating the cause of the failure, canceling the next event and upgrading all of the fleet's wing sails.
While this incident was striking, it illustrated a larger challenge for the league, which will hold its next event — the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix — in Portsmouth, England, on Saturday and Sunday.
F50s may look like they effortlessly fly across the water on hydrofoils, but back ashore it takes a small army to ensure the boats are constantly ready and evenly matched.
'Every F50 has daily pre- and post-sailing checks that take place from all departments: electronics, hydraulics rigging, boat building,' said Joel Marginson, director of SailGP Technologies, the league's design, engineering and manufacturing operation. 'At the end of the event, all the boats and wings are completely disassembled and fully serviced.'
Marginson said this included nondestructive testing — for example, ultrasonic testing, thermography and radiography — to identify any issues.
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