The DNA F1

After Punta Ala we set up a team to just consider new ideas and design directions. That design team was again Pieterjan Dwarshuis, Mischa Heemskerk as invaluable source of info and Rudo Enserink as designer; all and all the same guys responsible for the G4). By November we had a pretty solid idea of what we could realize and decided to make the jump and invest in a new platform. What you see on these pictures is the result of basically 6 months flat out design work, testing, tweaking and production work. 

We went to town for this job.. so many ideas, so many CFD checks, so many difficult goals. What we pulled off in the end is in our opinion a very high quality, high-spec boat. Obviously the main driver was to develop the ultimate optimized boat, and optimized within the class rules. Pictures paint a thousand words but we would like to shed a light on what everyone will see when looking at attached pictures. If you look at the vid, do not mind the shaky footage.. If you think about it, you will be pleased to see we have spent the money on engineering and tooling rather a pro gimballed piece of camera (it is on the agenda though). 

Aero 

The 2016 boat is new from the ground up and optimized for extremely low windage . With the speeds we reach both upwind and downwind nowadays, aero drag is a serious factor. If you keep in mind that the total driving force resultant upwind is approximately only around 150 Newton, then you understand that in a situation where the boat is doing 13 knts upwind in a 17 knts TWS, the apparent wind is 30 knts. Coming from a country where cycling is the norm, we love to compare with riding a racing bicycle at 55 km/hr; anyone having tried so will understand the importance of windage very quickly. Our answer to that topic is found partly in the new overall sleek design and an extremely streamlined soft deck (it is no longer a traditional trampoline). The main beam and rear beam have been integrated in the airfoil section, the tiller bar and tillers have been integrated in the airfoil section too and lastly we have a fully recessed traveller track. 


Stiffness & lightness 

Apart from aero, the platform should be class leading in construction too. We were pleased with the previous model but the new boat is truly optimized for ultimate stiffness and lightness. Now this is for the tech savvy people; its hulls are made in one single production run (so not the traditional two halves laminated together) in the autoclave which allows curing under high pressure and high temperature. As a result there is no secondary bonding, and no bonding lines. The hulls weigh in at 11.5 kg each with high fiber content hull skins at 300 gsm. The airfoil shaped beams are cured in the autoclave too. The standard finishing for the DNA F1 is clear coated carbon, as this is the lightest finishing possible (painting in colour on request). 

Foiling 

The new design is designed for flying from the very start, opposed to the previous generation platform which evolved into one. We have a new beam and foil positioning with a bigger span between rudder and main foil. The foils have been subjected to optimization with minor improvements and we have a completely new rudder head design which brings drastically improved stiffness due to the bigger span of the gudgeons. Longer tiller arms allow for more precise steering and a completely integrated ‘belt drive‘ rake system on the main foils offers accurate adjustment. The hull shape is optimized for trapezing while flying with an ergonomic hull height in the rear. As last the boats width is optimized for trapezing by giving max beam where practical only. Light wind conditions We believe the new platform provides a vast improvement in light wind ‘drifting’ conditions, we noticed this should be improved from the previous generation. Rocker has been increased, the bow is finer and the new hull shape also includes an optimized indented area around the daggerboard lower exit to avoid excessive drag. The new kinked front beam is ergonomically spot on for good downwind flat positioning and steering. 

For more info, please drop us a note at dna@hollandcomposites.nl.