rolf vrolijk: AUDI med cup 2011 race boat

'all4one' designed by judel / vrolijk & co. and built by mcconaghy boats
image © designboom


designboom was invited by AUDI to attend the 2011 edition of the AUDI med cup boat regatta in cascaix, portugal.
the german automotive manufacturer sponsored the overall race, also supporting two of the eight competing vessels -
italy's team powered by AUDI's 'azzura' and the french-german team powered by AUDI's 'all4one' - both designed by
rolf vrolijk.



'azzura' out on the water
image © designboom


the basic concept behind both of the AUDI sailing boats feature the same hull design.
generally, when designing yachts or boats, there is much reference made to the previous year's design, trying to improve
and optimize the form in order to produce a better forming boat. however, this year, there was a change in the
52 class (boats measuring 52 feet long - 15.85 metres) rules, which allowed vrolijk to look at alternative design options.
he developed two different specifications: one which is based on the existing boats of last year, and another in which 
he tried to find optimal performance because the old concept they felt had basically hit a wall and needed to be reworked.
hull shapes are similar across 'azzura' and 'all4one', but each are built in different yards:
'all4one' built by mcconaghy boats / designed by judel / vrolijk & co.; and 'azzurra' built at king marine / designed by rolf vrolijk.
despite this, they are based on the same structural designs. decks are 80 percent identical, with appendage configurations varying slightly.
 


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the TP52 is a racing yacht that sails significantly faster than many larger race vessels.
this is due to the boat's high stability, light weight hull, deep keel with a large bulb on the end of it, a big powerful sail plan and
the high performance dinghy-like hydrodynamics of the hull.



mark shipard from AUDI interviews boat designer rolf vrolijk on the overall design approach of the two AUDI sailboats




image courtesy of AUDI


when designing a boat, emphasis falls more on performance, and less on aesthetic as in car design.
normally an important factor is reducing the weight of the boat, however the intended 'box rules' give you a weight limit,
sail area limit and vessel length limit. in some conditions, one may want to build the boat lighter, but you are unable to -
there is a minimum weight. designboom spoke with rolf vrolijk about these restrictions and the amount of
flexibility he has in working within these parameters.


rolf vrolijk discussing the weight restrictions of the vessels


in past one was able to have an overall total weight and distribute it over the structure as they desired, but now,
a boat is measured on stability and its center of gravity, and boats are not allowed to have a centre of gravity
that is lower than a certain point - measured and calculated. this is a very complex way of measuring boats.
the bulb of the boat has a maximum length weight and the fin has a maximum weight, so now, you basically only weigh
the total of the fin and the bulb which has a maximum weight of 4800 kg.



image courtesy of AUDI



princess zahra aga khan, president of the board of directors of the yacht club costa smeralda christening the 'azzurra'
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image © designboom



view of 'azzurra's deck'
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the bow of the 'azzurra'
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'all4one'
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top view of the 'all4one' deck
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full view
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models of the racing boats
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models of the racing boats
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the 'all4one' team in action
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carbon fibre details
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when designing the boats, there are no newly developed materials applied as it needs to be available everywhere.
the whole superstructure is made entirely of a carbon fibre shell that wraps around a honeycomb core.
the rig, mass, bulb is also made from carbon fibre. however, there are elements in which metal is a better material
because of the unidirectional orientations of it. sometimes a metal fitting is a better choice than a carbon fibre fitting.
keel fins are made from steel as the material accommodates a certain amount of bend.
you want a fin to have torsion so you are able to adjust its angle, pointing more upwards, giving you control of the weight of it
with the centre of gravity as low as possible, as now rules state that the fin needs to be of a certain weight,
which makes designing a bit more difficult.



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all aspects of the boats are made of carbon fibre except for areas where metal is a better material for the purpose
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image © designboom



AUDI logo in carbon fibre
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inside the hull
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the 'bathroom'
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images of the AUDI boats under construction:


image courtesy of AUDI



image courtesy of AUDI



working on the hull
image courtesy of AUDI



image courtesy of AUDI



structural components of the hull being installed
image courtesy of AUDI



finishing off the carbon fibre deck
image courtesy of AUDI



designer rolf vrolijk
portrait © designboom