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What are the main problems of building in composites? |
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entry of materials, during fabrication, after fabrication, just like the aircraft industry. We test the performance of all the composites, in the laboratory, to breaking point. We never just rely on theory .... never! Theorists are always over optimistic, we are pragmatic and we only work with what we can guarantee every day, that’s why we make viable boats. For every assembly operation, samples are checked after hardening for 12 hours, so if two successive checks do not give the same result you know you have a problem. We are very serious, but the world of pleasure boat builders is full of dreamers, bricoleurs (d-i-y types) not really serious - for me that is not good enough. |
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What do you make the moulds from? |
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Carbon fibre; the material of mould and piece must be the same. Carbon is not inert to temperature change, but it does not move a lot, but if you make a mould in glass fibre it could elongate 10 cms. Suppose you make a mould in metal; the entire mould dilates as it is heated. The resin in the carbon is liquid up to 80°, at 120° it is hard. Then the mould cools down to 20° and, if it is metal, that mould retracts a lot and the carbon structure inside scarcely at all so it stops the mould retracting. That means in some cases it gets ejected, but if you have a boat with a vertical stem it cant jump out. With our sort of builds, where you have a skin, then a honeycomb then another skin and so on, there could be as many as 4 or 5 cookings, so having the same material for mould and boat is essential. |
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What part of the boat do you design first? |
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For me naval architecture is a lot more than that; it is about finding other solutions, better ones, which sometimes means rejecting established technique and using your opinion It can be difficult, because a boat is a very simple object, like a hammer. There are only a limited number of ways you can design a head and a shaft, hull - sail plan equals head - shaft. You must be creative, or you will only reproduce what others have done. Naval architecture and architecture are a mixture of art and technique and a true engineer creates, he doesn’t just reproduce. |
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You mentioned safety coefficient; what is yours? |
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I can’t tell you everything (laughing), but I can say that since 5 years ago we haven’t changed it. We have experimented with materials, but never with the safety coefficient. A safety coefficient IS a safety coefficient and, if you don’t respect that you will have a failure. If you want to save weight, you must do it by having the best workmanship and the best materials, not by changing the safety coefficient. When we put the boat in the water it is insured for its total value. I think we are the only yard able to insure vessels for €10 to 15 million and say that, if the boat is written off during sea trials, the client will get paid in full. People can lose a lot of money if they use architects or yards that aren’t insured in this way. |
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How did Orange I lead to Orange II? |
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So PlayStation pointed the way where size was concerned, but Orange II is, I think, more homogenous and more powerful than PlayStation and we also paid great attention to reliability, because a break down doesn’t just mean lost time, it also makes the crew lose confidence. With Orange II we did not go over the top on the weight game. People think that too much weight stops a boat going quickly, but there is more to it than that. If a boat is too light, the waves will act like a brake on it and then like an accelerator and a boat that is always accelerating and braking can never be correctly set up, it is also very fatiguing for the crew. What you want for Round the World is a long boat that is bit on the heavy side, so that it will not be stopped by the waves, but keep up a steady speed. Then the sail plan can be set up to be in balance and the boat will be less sensible to the sea state and more comfortable. On Orange II, you are very comfortable at 25 knots and at 20 knots you think you are stopped, there is, absolutely, no sensation of speed. |
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Which do you think is better, a cat or a tri? |
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are “super machines”, but look how many top sailors have lost one; Florence Arthaud; Laurent Bourguinon, Franck Cammas, Loick Peyron and the rest. Trimarans are very fast, but more dangerous, especially in following winds, or difficult sea conditions. Once a tri starts to nose dive, it is likely to flip, because it is so low on the water. Compare Orange II and Groupama 3, the latter must have a floater regularly under water. In a Round the World event, you cannot always avoid running before in bad weather and that is what is extremely dangerous in a tri, because it balances and taps. It puts both feet in the water and tap-tap, tap-tap, constantly under the shock of tapping and the risk that an arm will break. To take the Round the World record, you must first have a boat capable of going under 50 days, which is not easy, and, above all, you must have a boat that will take care of the crew, as well as a crew take care of the boat; only then can you take the record. |
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Why do you think there have been so many canting keel problems in Round the World boats? |
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Monocoques with canting keels are really multihulls in disguise, so the are hign performance machines. There have been many failures quite simply because people have underestimated the forces involved. The forces are very high, just as in a multihull and people simply have to learn from experience. |
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Do you envisage carbon being increasingly used for cruising hulls? |
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