America's Cup: New AC75 Class Rule and Technical Regulations released after consultation process
by AC Media/Sail-World 18 Mar 2022 22:54 NZDT
18 March 2022
Emirates Team New Zealand launch AC75 - November 18, 2020 © Richard Gladwell
The Defender and Challenger of Record have announced the publication of the AC75 Class Rule and the AC Technical Regulations, following a consultation and submission process by the entered teams.
These documents will govern the technical aspects of the 37th America’s Cup, and define the specific parameters to which every competing AC75 yacht must be built. The development of these rules has been a collaboration between the design teams of Emirates Team New Zealand and INEOS Britannia, the two teams representing the Defender and Challenger of Record for the event.
A draft of both documents was first released in November 2021, and since then the rule writers have been working through several rounds of feedback received from all challengers that have entered the Cup. Today’s publication marks the official release of the rules, effectively starting the clock for the design race that will end on the water when the competitors’ AC75s face each other in the Challenger Selection Series and ultimately the America’s Cup Match.
The changes in both sets of rules are relatively minor - even though there are a lot of them - and are included to make rule interpretations more clear and should not require the same level of reference to the Measurement Committee seeking rule interpretations. There has been a slight change in the boat weight with the weight range now being 6876-6944kg, previously the range was 6920-6940kg and for the former V1 AC75's the range was 7490-7500kg.
Crew numbers remain unchanged at eight sailing crew permitted. Boat length, foil wing dimensions and sail areas all remain unchanged. The Technical Regulations contain some changes - with new items and minor measurements added.
AC75 Class Rule
AC Technical Regulations