HISPANIA

Designer’s Notes

Design 179 was designed early in 1987 as a round the buoys IOR Maxi race boat. With keel and trim variations the boat would also be entered in long distance races like the Route of Discovery race from Cadiz Bay, Spain to Santo Domingo. The design program benefited from limited tank testing of 1/4 scale models to examine variations in hulls and appendages. Final beam, length and displacement figures were selected following a close study of the existing Maxi fleet and extensive research using our in-house VPP's. The resulting boat is positioned toward the heavy end of the existing fleet with generous sail area, high stability and moderate beam and length. Structural design used the approach our office developed for the 1985/86 Whitbread Maxi's as a basis with the laminates upgraded to make use of the carbon fibers available at the time. Keel, internal ballast engine and mast loads are supported by a primary aluminum frame. The resulting structure was the lighted Maxi structure at the time allowing the large internal ballast to be accumulated as low and central as possible reducing the volume of lead in the keel to a minimum. The masthead rig, with very large mainsail, was selected as a simple arrangement that would give much of the advantage of fractional rigs, but also very good light airs and running performance, so necessary on Olympic and windward-leeward courses. The boat was built by Pepin Gonzales of Barracuda Yachts in Palma. Barracuda had not built a boat larger than 40 feet before this project and so needed full construction details to ensure the final product complied with design goals. Although the job took longer than normal (over 15 months), Pepin and a small team of craftsmen performed one of the best laminating jobs we have seen. To date the boat has been trialed in the Mediterranean, raced in a maxi series and sailed in the Route of Discovery race. Performance figures from the trials indicate that predicted figures have been attained or exceeded. HISPANIA won its first race at the maxi regatta in St. Tropez. While this victory and the winning margin was impressive for the boat's first contest, the fleet did not include some of the top existing maxi boats. It is unfortunate that Design 179 will be almost 3 years old before it lines up against the top competitors in earnest. We feel however, that if well campaigned, HISPANIA will put on a good showing against the top Round the Buoys Maxis. Design 207 is another Round the Buoys Maxi that will incorporate many design refinements and adaption to rule changes since Design 179 was conceived. While our dominance in the Whitbread Maxi fleet provides a good background for our Round the Buoys boats, the two boat styles are substantially different in concept. We look forward to this competition and remain dedicated to the task of producing designs that will set the pace for the future.