America’s Cup yacht Scaled-Down is available for purchase
Over the past decade, I have been very interested in high-speed yacht races and America Cup. The long-tailed cats with wings of the 2010s America’s Cup regattas has captured my imagination. The final flying carbon fiber test panels are capable of hitting highway speeds with winds blowing half as fast.
However, the most common complaint among traditional rowers about this technological arms race is the growing disconnect between Cup competitions and casual sailors. I always find the complaints a bit ridiculous. It’s like disparaging Formula 1 because a modern Grand Prix car has almost nothing in common with a midsize crossover SUV.
Those complaints have now been answered. A miniature version of the yacht currently used in the America’s Cup competition will be publicly available at completely Affordable price $2 million.
The AC40 built by McConaghy Boats is a specification 38.7-foot version of the open design AC75 class convertible single-hull. AC75 will be the target category of the 37th American Soccer Cup, scheduled to take place in 2024 in Barcelona. The AC75 made its debut at the previous American Cup in 2021 and is expected to be used at the 38th American Cup.
Although, The spec AC40 will be the workhorse of the next America’s Cup cycle. The AC40s will be used by all the America’s Cup teams in preliminary racing events and modified by the teams to help develop their respective AC75 designs. In Barcelona, the junior spec class will also be raced in the 25-and-under Youth America’s Cup and the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup.
The AC40 is capable of reaching 50 miles per hour on the water in 23 mph winds. The yacht requires a crew of four sailors, two helms and two trimmers stationed in the pair of entrenched cockpits on each side of the hull. The yacht features an electronic autopilot system to replace the flight controller crew position responsible for controlling the foils and flying the boat. There is also an electrically-powered hydraulic system to replace the grinder positions on the crew.
There are currently ten AC40s on order for America’s Cup entrants. Emirates Team New Zealand, the current America’s Cup holders, designed the AC40 and will make its in-house simulator available for any private AC40 owners to prepare to sail the $2 million ultra-high performance yacht.