Are you looking to increase your
sailboat's performance by replacing
that old, heavy, inefficient keel or rudder? VGYD offers
state-of-the-art appendage refits, whether it's a light weight
composite rudder, a lifting or canting keel arrangement, or the
reconfiguration of an existing keel, our proven foil geometries are
engineered and optimized to give you the desired results. This may be
for practical reasons (e.g. reducing the draft on a deep keel); for a
performance gain (e.g. a modern more efficient foil design on an older
boat); a rating enhancement (e.g. PHRF, IRC, or any other commonly used
handicap system); or any combination of these.
Lager 45 (Wild Woman) - This custom 45 foot
cruiser/racer was
designed by Rob Ladd, engineered by Van Gorkom Yacht Design, and built
by Wiggers Custom Yachts in Canada. After the boat's first season VGYD
was asked to design a new composite rudder that would improve the
boat's tracking ability and windward performance. The new geometry was
a deeper, higher aspect ratio blade capable of generating substantially
more lift. Both the blade and stock were fabricated from carbon fiber
making for a lighter structure than the original configuration. Vision
Yachts, on the Isle of Wight, was contracted to do the work. The racing
on Wild Woman to date has been excellent with great performances in the
Round-the-World Cruising Rally, as well as many Caribbean racing series.
Zanabe - Van Gorkom Yacht Design was
sub-contracted by Sponberg
Yacht Design to create and engineer a whole new keel with a "beaver
tail" bulb for the 80ft cruising ketch Zanabe, which was undergoing a
complete refit at the then Little Harbor Boatyard in Portsmouth, Rhode
Island. The keel, weighing 38470 pounds (17450 kgs), is an integral
lead casting poured around a stainless steel cage with 16 x 1-1/2"
bolts. The fabrication was done by Broomfields in Providence, Rhode
Island.
Skye 51 - The owner of this successful
Rob Ladd designed
production cruiser, undertook a major refit of his boat, which included
upgrading to a new spade rudder. VGYD determined that by removing the
skeg and replacing the old "barn door" rudder with a more efficient
carbon fiber blade and rudder stock, over 300 pounds of excess weight
could be taken out of the after end of the boat. The result was a well
balanced and maneuverable helm that had a positive impact on the boat's
overall sailing and motoring performance.
Deerfoot 62 - This has been a long term
project for this owner
who acquired a fiberglass hull several years ago and has been building
and outfitting the boat as a world class cruising yacht. Van Gorkom
Yacht Design was contracted to design and engineer a new keel and
rudder for the boat. The large trapezoidal shaped keel was fabricated
in aluminum with integral 200 gallon fuel tanks and 13650 pounds of
internal lead ballast. The structure was built by Kanter Yachts in
Ontario, Canada. The spade rudder has an aluminum stock and internal
frame, has a milled foam core, and fiberglass skins. VGYD also designed
the auto pilot tiller arm for the boat.
Gunboat 62 Catamaran (Prana) - Van Gorkom Yacht Design was
approached by the owners of this fast and power catamaran designed by
Morrelli & Melvin, to re-engineer the rudders and bearing
system on
their boat. The redesign constituted a complete revamping of the
bearing materials used in the Vera rudder system where a composite of
stainless steel and Nylatron was used in combination with polycarbonate
ball bearings. These bearing units were fabricated by CAM Engineering
in Bristol, Rhode Island. In addition, the dagger board type rudders
were redesigned with a new geometry and carbon fiber laminate, which
were built by Stew Wiley of Portsmouth, RI.
Tahini 50 Catamaran - The owner of this Wharram
designed 50 foot
catamaran came to VGYD with a balance problem. After some consultation
and a rigorous study of the boat's sailing characteristics, we
determined that a set of dagger boards would have the greatest effect
and would not be detrimental to the flow around the keels. The trunks,
made of plywood and fiberglass, were positioned to the side of the
hulls with minimal impact to the interior volume. The 8.7 foot long
foils were fabricated from fiberglass with a wood and foam core.
McCurdy & Rhodes 46 - Sister ship to the famous
Carina, this
elegant 1970's racing sloop is under going a major refit, which
includes a new interior, a new deck arrangement, a new rig, and a new
rudder. The new high aspect ratio, semi-skeg rudder will replace an
inefficient trapezoidal geometry with very little increase in wetted
surface. The new blade will also put area in way of the propeller,
greatly improving the maneuverability of the boat while under power. In
keeping with the structural essence of the yacht, the rudder and stock
will be fabricated from aluminum and the work will be done by Island
Boats in Louisiana.
Swan 391 - Faced with the choice of
either selling his boat or
reconfiguring the keel due to a local draft constraint, the owner of
this Swan 391 contracted VGYD to help him explore the options. We
suggested a reconfiguration without the expense of removing the keel
from the boat. This was done by cutting 12" off the bottom, creating a
port and starboard plug of our dolphin bulb with the mating surfaces
shaped to the bottom of the keel, casting the lead in two halves and
bolting the halves to the keel. The work was done at Burr Brothers in
Marion, Massachusetts. The result was a zero loss in righting moment
and a gain in performance as the boat seems to climb to windward better
than it did before.
Frers 55 (ex. Cannon Ball) - Giving old racing yachts a
new
lease on life has become a very popular and cost effective way to own a
high performance sailing boats. VGYD has undertaken several foil refits
of some real racing legends such as the Frers 55 Cannon Ball. For this
refit we reduced the draft by cutting away 28" from the bottom of the
keel and bolted on a customized 4300 pound "dolphin" bulb. This
arrangement was extremely successful in reducing the draft without
sacrificing righting moment or performance. A similar keel
reconfiguration was designed for the Frers 45 (ex. Springboc).
Andrews 30 (FLAK) - This Great Lakes racer had an
impressive
record under the MORC rule. However, to make the boat competitive under
the local PHRF system the owner of Flak approached Van Gorkom Yacht
Design for the design of a new "L" keel. This configuration helped
reduce the weight and wetted surface without sacrificing righting
moment, for an overall performance gain. In order to accept the keel
flange VGYD had to engineer the modification to the structural keel
grid. The 2570 pound (1165 kgs) keel, fabricated by Mars Metal of
Canada, is a lead fin with a ductile iron internal structure and a lead
bulb.
KZ5 (12 Meter Class - "Hizzar") - America's Cup yachts of
yesteryear are
getting well deserved make-overs as their new owners enjoy competitive
racing in the various divisions of the 12 meter class. Van Gorkom Yacht
Design has been involved in a couple of those refits and one was where
the firm was sub-contracted by Perotti Performance Design to engineered
the structures for a new composite trim tab and rudder for Hissar, the
first Kiwi "plastic fantastic", KZ5.
Mount
Gay 30
- The owner of this boat bought an incomplete hull
and deck from New England Boat Works and has proceeded to finish it off
himself. NEB recommended he contact Van Gorkom Yacht Design for the
design and engineering of the keel and rudder systems, which were not
included with the original package. Given VGYD's experience with this
size range of racing sail boat, we were able to produce foil designs
that complimented and enhanced the overall sailing ability of this
boat. The carbon fiber rudder assembly, including blade, stock,
bearings and tube were built on the West Coast at ACC Marine. The steel
fin and lead bulb "L" keel was fabricated by Duro Keel in Mexico.
Thompson
37 (Rumours)
– The local Newport racing scene is
extremely competitive and few skippers are more competitive than Tim
Woodhouse of Hood Sails. Tim’s boat, Rumours, underwent an
extensive
refit in the spring of 2007 and VGYD was hired to redesign the keel.
This involved a full-length trim tab and a new geometry for the T-bulb.
The boat was splashed for the latter part of the season, but so far the
results have been dramatic. “This boat has never gone this
well to
windward, and it balances so nicely with the trim tab”, says
Tim
Woodhouse.
