North Sails supplying sails for one-design Volvo Ocean 65

by North Sails 21 May 2013 16:51 BST 21 May 2013

Renderings of the new Farr Yacht Design that will be used in the next two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race © Farr Yacht Design

North to provide 3Di sails that are durable, fast and identical

Built by North Sails in our Minden, Nevada factory and finalized in Vannes, France, the Volvo Ocean 65 sails will benefit from the experience and technology of the world's leading sailmaker. North Sails works with a very advanced 3Di technology – a 3D moulding technique giving the sails a flying shape.

Volvo 65

In 2014-15, each one-design Volvo Ocean 65 will race around the world with just 12 sails, a major reduction in the inventory from previous races and another significant cost saving introduced as part of the project. Just eight race sails are allowed on board, with no (non-repair) re-cuts and only four replacement sails. With the exception of the A3 and the storm jib, all sails will be built to varying deniers using North Sails' 3Di process, using pre-impregnated tapes made of black Twaron Aramid and clear Dyneema SK75 fibres.

No carbon is allowed in the sail material as it blocks the signals to and from the satellites essential for communication and data transfer.

Production and delivery will be carefully controlled and a Pre-Race set of sails will be built and made available as the boats come off the production line every seven weeks.

Race sails will also be built in batches so that the same mold is used for the production of eight sails of one type. Each sail type will then be finished in the same loft by the same team in one go to ensure an identical shape and production quality.

Jeff Neri, General Manager at North Sails in Nevada said: "Our main objective is to make a durable sail that holds its shape and stays together for as long as the race needs it to stay together. Secondly is making sure that all the sails are exactly the same – we have to make sure that the sails weigh the same, perform the same and last the same."

Jack Lloyd, Volvo Ocean Race Director: "We are very pleased with our agreement with North Sails and we are confident we have a good solution for our One Design sail package. We realised early that it would be too complex to keep the One Design sail project as part of the One Design boat project. So we removed it and dealt with it as a separate product. With North Sails, I believe we have a true One Design sail solution."

Sail Inventory:

Mainsail: fully-battened, three reefs
J1: good for 8-15 knots upwind, has hanks and battens
J2: good for 13-25 knots, on a furler with vertical leech battens
J3: good for 22-35 knots, also on a furler with vertical leech battens
Fractional Code 0 spinnaker (affectionately dubbed the 'fro'): used in a broad range of angles, sheets to the outrigger
Masthead Code 0:: used in 0-6 knots upwind, or downwind in more breeze
Masthead A3 gennaker:: the only dedicated downwind sail, typically used at true wind angles of 120° and above
J4:: good for 35 knots+ as a storm jib, and also as a staysail

An additional four sails to choose from the above can be used during the race.

An outrigger will extend 1.5m outside the hull either midships for the jibs or aft near the stern for the MH0, FR0 and A3.

For more information, log on to www.VolvoOceanRace.com

Note: In addition to racing with North Sails, all Volvo Ocean Race boats will also race with Southern Spars masts and EC6 rigging from Composite Rigging. The engineering for sails, mast and rigging were all done using the North Design Suite (NDS) platform.

Volvo Ocean Race did a great video tour of North's manufacturing facility in Minden, NV with Rick Deppe recently. Check out how North is building the Volvo Ocean Race sails...