Friday 6 June 2014

Sodebo Ultime trimaran, first sea trials are underway

From the following press release (in French) on the Sodebo website:

http://www.sodebo.fr/voile/actualites/article/sodebo-ultim-tire-premiers-bords

05/06/2014

The rough bing translate below:

Sodebo Ultim' takes its first tacks

In ideal and rather windy conditions, Thomas Coville and his team share heady hours on the occasion of the first navigations of Sodebo Ultim' in the Bay of Quiberon. During the months where it took to draw and then build this unique trimaran of its kind, the teams thought to these moments; imagining how the shells would take over the sea, how - equivalent of the displacement in car - width would result in power and how these hundreds of square metres of wing would be manageable single-handed?
 
"Today, we sailed with 25/30 knots of wind and I confess that starting, was not malignant," recounted yesterday evening Thomas with a smile that reflected satisfaction after a beautiful day. "Should go with humility, we are only at the beginning, but one feels immediately that we changed dimension and that Sodebo Ultim' has under the hood." The boat is going quickly easily and is stable at the helm, seems light, it is not fickle but living, more scalable and well vire. It's very satisfying to discover a nearby boat than the one we had in mind. One feels the team super enthusiastic even if it does not ignite."

A big boat"I learned a lot of tests," chained the skipper making reference to these particularly stressful days where the team worked alongside, putting considerable tension in the 31 metre trimaran to check the resistance of the structure (see the video). "We went up to 60 tons of compression in the mast and 26 tonnes of traction in the structural prop "(the cable that holds the mast forward)which is, in any case more than on the old Sodebo. It simulates extreme situations I encounter at sea. I'd also have sensors in navigation that will inform me in real time. With this size of boat, can no longer rely only on what it feels like, need numbers."

Human sized?
In early November, on the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, the skipper will be alone at the controls. On the single column of winch used to maneuver and adjust boat, Thomas will not unemployed. "I hoisted the mainsail alone. "It's longer than our old boat but not more physical," he said. With up to 663 square metres of canvas, Sodebo Ultim', as other vessels of the ultimate class, raises the question of the muscle capacities of the skipper. Latter can adapt the mechanics across the boat but does not, itself, turning into a giant. Team Sodebo maximally simplified the path of ropes on the trimaran to limit energy losses, the result so far seems conclusive. Roll and unroll the veils of before remains the crucial point. Sodebo Ultim' navigates this Thursday in the medium wind and the crew had just try the large gennaker of 380 sq.... the size of an apartment!

Mount crescendo To coordinate the development of the boat, Thomas appealed to the sailor and router Jean-Luc Nélias. "After 14 months of construction, it was necessary to accompany the team in the phase of development to infuse new energy contributing to optimize the performance of each navigation, Jean-Luc ensures this mission," complete the team leader. "After you have validated that the material works, we depart offshore crew. "I will then begin solo sailing, pushing every time a little further and a little longer." Thomas and his team measured their luck but also at stake because the clock runs to six months in the rum.

JH

The video of the compression tests on Sodebo Ultime:

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