GIOVANNI
CECCARELLI
- Principal designer +39
-
Giovanni Ceccarelli sign the new yachts for +39 , the new
Italian challenge for the America’s cup 2007 in Valencia .
The 24th of
may in Gargnano in a fantastic Italian day , sunny and windy , has
been presented the new Italian challenge for the America’s cup in Valencia
2007 the team +39 .
The
team will race with the flag of Circolo Velico Gargnano,
president of the club and of the team is mr. Lorenzo Rizzardi .
Giovanni Ceccarelli is the principal designer of the team, he’ll
sign the two new hull for Valencia 2007 .
Foto Fabio
Taccola
Answer from Giovanni Ceccarelli Principal designer of +39
challenge to Andrew Hurst Seahorse Magazine
.
1.Is this your first experience of ACC
design?
I worked for the most
recent challenge in New Zealand In the role of Principal
Designer for Mascalzone Latino , I designed for them
ITA- 72 now GER- 72.
This summer this old
boat showed interesting speed specially in light air
winning different races.
Now I have the same
role as Principal Designer in + 39 challenge from the
beginning of 2004 ; time that I started to create the design
team.
2.How good
are your design and build resources this time around – is it enough to
make you believe you are competitive?
I
am confident that we have done a good job from the research and
design point of view ; we are on the correct way , with
appropriate time and human resources in the team involved.
The design team is working principally from
Ravenna office, under my direction together
from July 2004 at full speed , now we have the first boat under a
good stage of construction to be in the water for
spring 2006 , in Palermo.
3.Where is
build the boat?
Actually the boat is in good
stage of construction in a shop in the suburb of Ravenna; city
where is located my office, so we could have a daily check to the
progress from the design team, they build the moulds and plugs. The boat
will be completed in Palermo in Dan Naval e Sicilcraft Cantieri
Navali Srl ; the Sicilian partner chosen for the construction of the
yacht.
foto Fabio Taccola
4.How did
you divide your own research between the tank, CFD, hand work ?
Every my
design start from some basic ideas and evolves from it, and them are
principally generated by the man not from the machine. In every
area of design there are different type of approach
and technology involved the level of technology it is
always high. For the naval architecture still I work in a
“traditional way” staring with the hand made design with a
fairing tool and after a first validation with CFD with panel
code Splash and Vpp output in house and I go to a more
refined validation with Rans that are run in a super computer
in US. Finally the best hulls ; that in this case was
four with the same appendages we tested in tank test in Marin
facility in Holland during 2005. I still think that the tank
test are important in a process of research like this for an
IACC boat. That was the process that I did on more than one hundred
hulls to arrive to found the final hull. But this job is not
finish because , I am working to the next generation
hull and optimizations. For structures and engineering we are
working with different tools of calculation FEM module for
calculation of the laminations, all the design process of hull and
appendages is integrated in Pro Enginner .
5.Who else
are you working with in the design work ?
I have with me ten colleagues
working with me in +39 design team, with experiences in previous IACC
campaign, mostly are based in Ravenna and the others outside
with monthly meetings and daily update with the web .
That
are divided for category of job :
CFD calculation and
research.
Tank testing and Vpp research.
Design of
structures and calculation.
Deck fitting and engineering of
detail.
Sail design.
Mast design.
Project Management.
6.Do you
believe that the change to Version 5 – tightening the box – is good or bad
for the smaller teams? And why ?
I
think that the technical director Ken Mc Alpine did a very good job with
the final version V of the rule. We saw the results during the
races last summer from light to strong wind with the boat for
the first time in their life really surfing in the waves in Trapani at 20
knots.
I think
that’s a rule that’s fair, that don’t give advantage to the
big nor to the small teams in term of performances.
7.Your
old “Briand” designed canoe has had a ‘wild history’. How much work
did your design team do to get ITA 59 sailing and improve her speed
?
We
worked beginning hard on the boat, first of all during
the winter in Sicily to try to understand, after to modify to arrive to
have a version V hull. We focused on the appendages and the trim and
balance of the boat, we did not modifications to the hull shape because
was already a boat with a extra large LBG.
8.And about
sail design this year ?
One of our Sail program goals for
last year, was to be able to speed up ITA-59 under version-5
and come up with fast sail designs and at the same time validate and test
a lot of the sail information to completely integrate it into the
new boat design loop. This part of the job was done by the design team and
particularly by our sail designer that did a great job and our
cfd department in conjunction with the sailing team.
9.Is it
true that when you got the ITA 59 it had been full of sand and on display
ashore?
No,
Team Alinghi is really a fantastic team and also the boat
delivered was not so in bad conditions, but it was the oldest
and probably the heaviest hull on the market that time due to
the many modifications done during his life starting from a
hull with two bulbs boat at the beginning!
10.Which areas have you concentrated on the most in your own
design development for the new boat ?
In America’s Cup if you
want to arrive at the top every area must be optimized! For the
smaller team that is more difficult than for the big team to
arrive with the resources to cover each single area. We gave the
maximum of the effort in the research of hull and appendages shapes
and in the engineering of the boat to be strong and stiff .
11.Which is the sail number ?
The first yacht of +39
challenge will race next season with ITA 85 sail number.
12.How
much has the sailing team been involved in the design process ?
There is a good way to work between the design team and
the sailors of +39 challenge. I do the principal technical strategy,
in agreement with Luca Devoti, that do also the connection with the
sailors. At the same time, as for the sailing team we have a coach
driven program, all the technical aspects are driven by the principal
designer.
Ceccarelli - Devoti -
Percy - Rizzardi (Foto Borlenghi)
13.Will other teams next year
get closer to Alinghi ?
The Swiss team has an incredible ability to
move efficiently from height to footing and back – do other teams fully
understand yet how they do this? I am confident, if all the in the
proper way, that next year the gap between us and Alinghi will be
closer. We are confident that our new design will be faster in our
target conditions, than the top was this year, but we don’t know
where the other team are going to be next year.
14.Will the
construction of your new boat be conventional?
No
like all the other aspetcts of the boat also for the structures, there are
a few tricks being employed in the overall philosophy of the structure to
ensure the stiffest boat for its weight is achieved within the
Rule.
15.Will you
use a female mould?
Yes, we
build them in carbon fibre pre preg, in this way we suppose to have a
lighter and stronger boat and faster to duplicate or modify.
16.How much
an improvement in the latest boats will come from better construction
methods, newer materials, and why? Attention to detail is imperative
- the design must be all encompassing realising all elements and
accounting for them in the structural design. Material choices have been
tightened slightly this time emphasizing the need for innovative solutions
to loose weight yet retain stiffness and strength as required.
17.How do
you think the shell weights will compare to 2003-generation designs? And
how did they compare to the 2000-generation ?
I
believe that thorough testing will ensure that where appropriate the
minimum panel weights will be more closely achieved, this is aided by the
reduced variance in material weights from the pre-preg and core suppliers
and better core bonding films.
18. How
much advantage is available in terms of construction if you are a team
with a really huge budget, Oracle etc? Is it significant or not ?
Every avenue has been considered on its technical merits first,
and budgetary second. Our construction decisions and choices would remain
the same even if our construction budget was increased dramatically – we
have not needed to sacrifice in any area of the boat construction for
financial reasons.
19.How do
you think the shell weights will compare to 2003-generation designs ? And
how did they compare to the 2000-generation ?
I think a saving around a 10 to 15 %
of the shell weights compared to the 2003 generations quite
the same differences that there was between the 2003 and the 2000
generations.
20.How big
are the advances that you expect to make with your own first boat in terms
of performance?
I
cannot tell the exact numbers of performances but
we expect to be minutes faster than ITA 59 was this
summer in the target conditions.
21.And
how about sails and rigs, do you feel you were a long way behind this year
with old equipment ?
This summer we raced with an
old Alinghi millennium mast I thought was their first mast
done in millennium configuration that we updated only with PBO
rigging, carbon foil, moveable jumper to suit the big head Genoa allowable
with the version V, the big team used all new rigs. With new
rig next year we think to improve a lot in the combination of
mast and sails in term of performances.
22.Who
will build your new rigs?
Our new
rigs for ITA 85 will be built by Marstroem in Sweden, that will supply
also the construction of the new
rudders.
23.How
different will your and other new boats be next year? Will we be able to
visually choose between a V4 and V5 design next year ?
The boat
from outside looks similar, is the rule that block the big
differences, also the Formula 1 cars look similar in the number but
are very different from the eyes of the designers the
same will be for the next generation of IACC.
foto Fabio
Taccola
24.Jason Ker’s first boat RSA 83 seemed very good for a first ACC
design and with very little research time. Do you
agree?
I don’t know the time spent in research
and development from the team of Salvatore Sarno but they did
a good job both from technical and human approach of the team to the
America’s Cup .
25.When
the racing starts to get serious later next year, do you believe that the
smaller teams can continue to take races off the big teams. And
why?
The concept of
big and small team from now to 2007 I hope that will be
rescheduled. Some that now are considered small will grow, we will be in
that group.
26.The
change to V5 should make the canoes much closer. So what percentage
differences do you see on the water in the areas of sails, appendages,
spars etc? I don’t think the canoe will be closer next time;
Ita 85 will be original for the canoe body shape. I’ll be
surprise if there will be no differences from boat to
boat and from the appendages side in 2007. There will be an
uniformity more on the sail plan measures.
27.Giovanni, we expect great things of your team next season,
but which are the other smaller teams that you think will also show well ?
I don’ t know from the others I believe in
our group , we are working hard and have the right people to
do well on the sea and a fantastic helmsman Iain Percy!
28.Finally, we know that the Cup is not just about money but
how you use it. Some teams make better use of their funds than others, how
do you rank the teams technically in terms of how you as a designer see
them making progress compared to the resources that they have?
Top of my list, +39 challenge! Seriously, this is a
tough call for anyone , having not seen but one v5 boat. Sail and
rig development was definitely more obvious on most teams in 2005.
You are right that wise spending is one of the keys to this
game. Like a learning curve, a team with unlimited funds can find
themselves on the flat part of the "spending" curve. The new boats (and
rigs) will really start to show who is making progress faster in
2006.
29.Do
you have others project on the drawing table of Ceccarelli Yacht Design
?
Last
year my company Ceccarelli Yacht Design launched the IMS
600 that won the Italian Championship and show very good speed
and Mali 33 . I have in construction a 62 a 51 one
off and a 40 series cruiser racer boats for Rimar
all in Italy : For Tp52 Mediterranean racing circuit we
are also finalizing a new design of Tp52 for the
team of Riccardo Simoneschi, that is my first generation boat
for this class , but the approach in the design is the same as an
America’s Cup design the only difference is the time more
limited.
foto Fabio
Taccola
Giovanni Ceccarelli Principal designer for +39 challenge
describes the main stage for the research, the design and the construction
of ITA 85, the first boat of the team:
ITA
85 is the result of:
58000 hours
of research and design and research by the Principal Designer Giovanni
Ceccarelli and 11 Design Team member in the past 24 months. And the design
process is still going on.
35000 hours
per for the construction of the boat up to today.
110
candidate hulls designed and tested with 3 different CFD codes (Computer
Fluid Dynamic) analysis for a total of 16000 hours on the team
workstations. Then compared with VPP (Velocity Program Prediction).
200 bulbs
and rudders designed and tested with CFD analysis for a total of 12000
hours on the team workstations.
3000 hours
of FEM analysis and parametric design for the hull, deck, appendages and
rigging.
N° 9
scale 1:3 hull models (about 8 m of length) tested in the towing tank at
Marin Institute in Wageningen (the Netherlands).
180
construction drawings realized up to today for the hull and the
appendages.
For
the hull and the deck construction have been used:
2000 kg of
pre-preg carbon fiber ;
200 sqm
Nomex core;
55 hull
section cut with laser for the model construction ;
25000 kg of
lead for the bulb ;
1500 kg of
high tensile steel for the construction of the keel ;
an oven
with a length of 30 m, 8 m wide and 6 h height for the post cure of the
hull up to 100°C ;
18 kg of
paint by AWL Grip for the hull painting
The philosophy of the project
:
together
with the team the principal designer has designed a very innovative
hull.
There has
been a intense cooperation with the sailing team for the design of the
deck layout.
ITA 85 is a
very innovative hull for the under water shape such as the canoe body and
the appendages. The new IACC rule version V has limited the variations of
the boat displacement and sail area, but has left a great freedom for the
hull and appendages shape. Thus the research has been focused mainly in
those areas.
The boat is tailored to her crew and to her
helmsman Iain Percy, that has requested a boat easy to maneuver and with a
good acceleration, to be able to gain the maximum in the race pre-start, a
very important part of the regatta with the today race course
type.
Every new
idea has been validated with CFD analysis and tested in the tank and for
the structural parts with FEM calculation and mechanical
tests.
The
design team
Giovanni
Ceccarelli is at his second America’s Cup as Principal Designer of the +39
team. He’s describing this as a fundamental second stage of his design
life experience.
The
research and design work has started 24 months ago when the Principal
Designer started with the selection of the design team members, all with
at least another America’s Cup experience.
Gabriele
Mazza, Alessandro Vicini, Julian Smith and Sebastiano Rech Morassuti has
already been part of the Giovanni Ceccarelli design group with Mascalzone
Latino in the 2003 America’s Cup in New Zealand.
The design
team is basically divided into structural and CFD research subgroups.
The CFD
group is formed by: Richard Korpus from Annapolis (Usa), word famous CFD
software developer and with 3 America’s Cup Experiences. During the last
Cup in 2003 in New Zealand he has been Principal Scientist in the Oracle
team; Alessandro Vicini from Pisa (Italy) that is an aerospace engineer
and Gabriele Mazza.
Moreover
there is a cooperation with the Pisa University in the CFD area. The
University and, more specifically, the Aerospace faculty lead by Professor
Giovanni Lombardi, develop various research projects.
The
structural team is formed by: Davide Tagliapietra, Richard Oliver and
Julian Smith.
The design
team has been working till today in the Ceccarelli Yacht Design offices in
Ravenna (Italy); now the team is in Valencia to overview the final stages
of the project and boat construction, then the boat tuning at
sea.
The
research and the project
24 months
of work up to today and the work is still going on.
The use of
special software to develop the hull lines has permitted the design of 101
hull, following a logical process. The automatic random processing of hull
does not permit the use of the human mind and the following logical hull
generation process.
The new
IACC formula limits instead the use of the most up to date technology
under the structural point of view.
CFD
or Tank Testing?
I trust the
CFD has a fundamental tool to investigate during the design of the
immersed parts (hull and appendages) and of the sail plan.
4 different
CFD codes have been used.
the Tank
Testing is at the same time very important for project like the America’s
Cup. For this reason 9 hull have been tested in a 1:3 scale in the Towing
Tank at Marin Institute in Wageningen (the Netherlands) The tank is still
a fundamental tool to check the hull shape together with the wave
pattern.
The
sail number
ITA 85 is
the sail number that the head of the measurers Ken Mc Alpine has assigned
to the hull after the final verification in the yard where the boat was
under construction in Italy.
The boat construction
The Yard
designed for the construction of the hull in September 2005 is the Sicil
Craft in Palermo. The construction of the composites parts has handed out
to Cantiere Soleri in Alfonsine (Ravenna – Italy). Ù
Sicil Craft
yard has sent a team to Cantiere Soleri to help during the construction of
the composites parts.
The yard
directed by Fabio Soleri has been chosen by the team President Lorenzo
Rizzardi than has then weekly followed the construction since he has a
good experience in boat construction. Also the design team was located
close to the yard and therefore has check daily the construction
process.
Sebastiano
Morassutti has been the project manager for the boat construction,
together with Antoine Le Villain.
An oven has
been built on purpose. The oven can reach temperature up to 100°C with a
length of 30m, a width of 8m and an height of 6m.
The
construction has been very accurate. A model of the hull and the deck has
been built to realize a monolithic mould in carbon
pre-preg.
The result
is a hull with a high longitudinal strength, superior to the previous
generation and a weight of less than 2000 kg.
The
developments for the future
The
developments of an America’s Cup boat does not finish till the last day of
racing. Therefore this is only the first stage in the development of ITA
85.
The name
Her
name is 3901, with the formula one style, since she’s the first +39
hullbuilt for the IACC Class.
The color
… she could
have been painted in black or left carbon look, but then is instead blue.
Blue
because is the official + 39 Challenge team color since the beginning of
the campaign.
Blue
because the sailors don’t like to change.
Blue
because it recall the color of Italy
Blue
because it recall the color of the Italian sea
Blue and
not transparent black because is lighter to paint the hull with
blue.
Blue
because is more correct to protect the lamination from the UV rays.
Blue
because we don’t want to show the type of lamination of the outside
skin.
The
launch
The launch is forecasted in Valencia after a series of
structural tests. The tuning up will then start in the Spanish sea against
ITA 59 with a two boat test.
Principal data of the
project :
Hull +39-01
Principal designer Giovanni
Ceccarelli
Design N° CYD 0104
Sail Number ITA 85
Overall Length 26.00 m
Overall Beam 3.80 m
Draft 4.10 m
Measurement Displacement 24 000
kg
Hull Composites Weight 2 000
kg
Ballast Weight 20 000 kg
Mast Height 36.0 m
Upwind sail area 365 sqm ( Main
+ Max Genoa )
Eng. Giovanni Ceccarelli
Principal Designer + 39
Challenger
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