LENGTH – 11 ft / 3.35 m
BEAM – 7.4 ft / 2.25 m
DRAFT – 3.6 ft / 1.1 m
WEIGHT – 61.7 lbs / 28 kg
SAIL
AREA
MAIN – 86 sq ft / 8 m2
DESIGNERS COMMENTS
The boat had to be fast enough to win the World Championships, but it must
be also capable of achieving this “straight out of the box”. Our goal is
that the black art of “tweaking” will not apply to this boat in the way it
has to other production designs and that those “in the know” do not have an
advantage over your regular Jo.
Everything is just right, from the foils that are designed at exactly the
right angle, to the sophisticated wand system, and whilst clearly the
International Moth is a development class, care has been taken to ensure
that the boat will work as close to perfection as possible, straight from
the box.
But the design brief was also to make a boat of such quality that owners
would be proud, whether they are racing at world level, or just enjoying
some free ride time on the water. Pride comes from not only having a
desirable product, but a dependable one too, and as a result great care has
been taken over the tooling, material selection and method of construction.
The hull shape has been designed to be as fast as possible at “take off”
speed. This is the only traditional requirement of the hull, the rest of the
time it’s in the air. And that’s where windage is important and the lack of
any flair to the deck, the first on a production boat allows an easy flow of
air around the boat from most angles.
The Dreadnought bow not only looks great but also reduces windage. Equally
it minimizes resistance as the hull punches through waves going downwind in
rough conditions. This means that the boat doesn’t “load up” so easily and
is therefore more manageable and quicker.
The sexy transom, a feature that immediately catches the eye, is designed to
put strength into that area whilst taking weight out.
Finally the unique triangular centre board case is moved further forward to
increase stability and share the lifting loads more equally between the two
foils.
Andrew McDougall
Mach 2 Designer
HULL CONSTRUCTION
The hull is
autoclaved
carbon fibre foam sandwich construction, yet is made from all uni-direction
pre-preg carbon fibre. Uniquely, there is no woven cloth in the hull
laminates of this boat.
Laid firstly at 0 degrees and then at 90 degrees the uni directional cloth
creates a light weight robust hull without the “stretch” characteristics and
extra glue, that is taken up in the warp/weft of typical standard woven
cloth. The foam core is 4mm 70gram.
The hull is moulded with the foredeck as part of the hull moulding. This
means that the structural integrity of the boat is enhanced as there is no
joint, and again weight is saved.
You can have any colour as long as it’s black. That’s because the hull
finish is a satin lacquer over the carbon fibre outer skin. Subtle Mach 2
logos add to the finishing touch.
The hull weighs approx 8.00kg.
THE WINGS
The wings are autoclave moulded to take into account the need for aerodynamic
efficiency and outer wing bar buoyancy. The beautifully shaped front bars
wouldn’t look out of place on a Formula 1 car and the radical outer bars are
thicker in the middle than at the ends, meaning less bend and much better
ergonomics, helping you to forget about hiking and concentrate on the
sailing.
The front and rear wing bars are short and don’t extend out to the full
legal width of the boat which has typically been the case. The front wing
bars finish at the shroud take off point and this is where the molded outer
wing bar joins. This means that it is possible to simply slide off the
tramps and fold the outer wing bar into the boat for safe towing or storing.
THE FOILS
Recently, this is where the greatest gains have been made and the Mach 2
foils have taken development to the next level. Their pedigree is impeccable
and we have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Jim
Bungener, the America’s cup designer, who has tested the foil design using
state of the art computational fluid dynamics software.
Features
- The vertical rudder foil which is longer than the centreboard. This also
means that the chances of the rudder lifting foil and being caught in the
“jet wash” of the main foil is further reduced.
- The prominent front bulb on the main foil which extends forward further than ever before and effectively minimises the turbulence created by the horizontal and vertical joint.
- The “Albatross” like horizontal rudder foil which minimises ventilation
- There is no
rudder box on the Mach 2, the rudder foil fits directly onto the carbon
fibre gantry. Although not a new development, this minimises play and
reduces complexity.
Each autoclaved carbon fibre foil is built to exacting standards and can be
disassembled for easy cost effective transportation. They are finished is
clear lacquered carbon fibre.