USA-17

The trimaran body was made almost entirely of carbon fiber , which made it very light for its size.

A hard sail , similar in design to the wing of an airplane, is mounted on the trimaran. The wing consists of two sections separated by a vertical slit through which air flows. The back of the sail consists of nine separate elements, each of which can be customized independently of the rest. This design allows you to quickly change the profile , thereby regulating the lifting force .

During official competitions, USA-17 showed the ability to develop a speed that is 2 - 2.5 times higher than the true wind speed. On tacking, the trimaran can go in the course of 20 degrees to the pennant wind . At the passing courses, the yacht develops such a speed that its course to the pennant wind is only 5 - 6 degrees different from the course on the tack. The result is that USA-17 always goes sharp courses to the wind.

In February 2010, USA-17 was used as the boat of the challenging team of BMW Oracle Racing for the America’s Cup and defeated the Alinghi defending team with a score of 2-0. On the maneuver of the first race, the USA-17 crew at some point removed the staysail , after which it continued to go faster than the Alinghi catamaran carrying the traditional staysail and mainsail on the wing-only sail. At the passing courses of both races, USA-17 also showed higher speed compared to Alinghi : 13% in the first race and 6% in the second ^[1] .

Official site of BMW Oracle Racing