Swiss engineering at it's finest

At the 2016 Worlds, a boat turned up at Medemblik with a distinctly different look at its back end.  It was the Scheurer G7 of Sandro Cavizel, the Swiss Champion.  It had an empennage extending the tramp from the rear beam to the hull ends.  This was designed to smooth the airflow from underneath the tramp and remove any drag vortices caused when the airflow drops off the beam and meets the air falling off the hull ends.   It was sailed all last season, proving an efficient platform.

So, they now have a new version of his G7.  This time the design has been optimized and engineered in true Swiss fashion.  After experimenting with foil positions further forward, right up to the beam in fact.  However, as others have discovered, whilst allowing more stable foiling, a more forward foil position has a detrimental effect on the performance curve.  So, they decided to move the whole mast/beam position forward, thus maintaining their optimized mast to foil measurement.  This also has the result that the sail foot can be extended backwards as area is lost from high up on the Landenberger Decksweeper sail. 

The mast foot position can also be altered, from some 2840mm from the transom with the 9m mast, up to 3000m when using a shorter mast. With a shorter mast, this could prove to be a winner as a longer foot would result.

He is also using a new rudder system with side hinged pintles.  This makes the whole boat easier to handle than the 2016 version, he says.  The whole tiller bar/ tiller arrangement is hidden below the rear empennage design.  It is fixed to a small track behind the sail traveller.  It is then connected with Dyneema lines to the tillers, leaving a slop free but adjustable system.   Coupled with the re-profiled front beam this all combines to make his new G7 a very slippery beast indeed. 

Performance-wise, this boat looks very smooth and fast – check out the video on CSN's page.  The improved aero design is working well, and although the empennage takes a few wave hits, nothing seems amiss.  We will see soon, when it is up against the other top guys at the upcoming events before Sopot.