Flying DNA, the 2013 update

New DNA J-board, upside down

DNA J-board in sailing position

DNA J- boards, upside down two boards

DNA J-board in profile

All 2013 boats will have a new daggerboard case in which the new boards fit, the old boards and Nikita style boards. The daggerboard sliders will have a larger range (total 4 degrees!).

Boats will have J-boards, rudder winglets and new sliders. Proven hull shape will remain the same.

Winglets are available for sale now and can be retrofitted to the old rudders. Winglets are identical to ones Mischa used at The Worlds, which are almost identical to Landy's.

The new boards do not fit in the old daggerboard cases. ARC will make kits for sailors who want to upgrade their boat.

Boats will be one kg lighter due to a different paint systems and a even higher quality carbon prepreg.

The J-boards are an result of some extensive testing last year with Mischa Heemskerk.

We could make the boat fly with the old boards and the winglets though not in a stable flight.

The J-boards give more lift in the bottom and have less overall drag, we expect to see a better performance in all circumstances and much higher end speeds. Our aim is to get the DNA over the 30 knot barrier this season.

We have looked at the ETNZ solution as well and are testing this option too. The ETNZ solution is not legal in the A-class as we have to be able to put the daggerboards in from the top  of the case. Still interesting to see what it will do on a DNA.

The J-board configuration will have less drag under 15 knots of breeze and will therefore be more allround. The hooked S-boards of ENZ will lead to a more stable flight whille flying though. 

Where the AC72 can only use the leeward board to stabilize the flight we can use both J-boards.

Pitch is controlled with the winglets, height control is semi-automated, roll can be minimized by using the weather board  and excessive sideslip is minimized by the special trimtip.

Under the current rules this is solution which has  lower drag than last years non flying set-up and can be used to make the boat fly. We will post more pics after more testing (dependent on the weather next weekend).

End of February we have organized a test event in Murcia where we will work on the set-up to get the most out of it.