CCG Assists in Design of Grainger Racing Catamaran

To increase the longitudinal stiffness of the boat and increase rig tension the designers specified a central spine linking the headsails to the main cross beams. This additional structure has been used by the new America’s Cup racing catamarans to increase performance and now smaller boats are taking advantage of its benefits. The Australian office of CCG was contracted by the designers to assist with the structural design of the main cross beams and new central spine. With the use of simplified finite element models the engineering team was able to accurately predict the loads paths through the structure and determine the critical areas of the structure. The supply of full workshop drawings to fabricate both the main beams and the central spine was included in the work.

The hull and decks are constructed with Diab’s Divinycell H series foam with E-glass skins laminated with epoxy resin. The internal supporting structure of bulkheads and beams are sandwich panels and foam top hat beam fabricated with Divinycell H foam. The main beams and spine are fabricated with carbon fibre epoxy and Divinycell H foam.

Industries: Marine Transportation and Shipbuilding