Kiwis to fight any attempt to drill KZ7

Press, 11 October 1986, Page 76

Kiwis to fight any attempt to drill KZ7

By

CHRIS PETERS,

NZPA staff correspondent in Fremantle

The New Zealand syndicate yesterday stood by the 12-metre rating its America’s Cup challenger has been given by the English measurers, Lloyds, and will fight attempts to drill holes in the hull of KZ7.

In his answer to the controversy dubbed “glassgate” and set to be as explosive as the winged keel row of 1983, the BNZ syndicate chairman, Michael Fay, said that at this stage there was nothing to be done until an official challenge is lodged against the Kiwi boat.

The San Diego skipper, Dennis Conner, has confirmed that he was behind the move to find out whether the New Zealand boat conformed to the 12metre rule and whether it was built light at each end.

The accepted method of doing this is to drill plugs from the hull to test their composition. But Mr Fay yesterday insisted that while there had still been no challenge against the construction of the New Zealand boat, any discussion of Conner’s move, was still speculation.

The San Diego syndicate announced that it would release the correspondence between itself and the organisers of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger elimination round.

According to informed sources here, the Americans asked the organising club, Yacht Club Costa Smerelda for “tests” to be made of the New Zealand hull to check on its composition. The Italian yacht club

replied to Conner’s syndicate, saying that as. far as it was concerned New Zealand had its racing certificate from Lloyds and would take no action on the matter. This left Conner in the position of having to wait until his boat Stars And Stripes races New Zealand next Wednesday to lodge a protest. However, Yacht Club Costa Smerelda also passed Connor’s letter on to the measuring committee, and that committee itself could decide on its own volition to seek tests of the New Zealand boat.

But so far Mr Fay says nothing has happened. Commenting on claims by the San Diego syndicate that the test request was similar to asking for a blood sample from an athlete, Mr Fay said: “Why now has the issue of blood samples come up? “The conditions of entry in the cup are simple requirements — New Zealand must meet the Lloyds specifications to get a certificate, meet the New Zealand federation’s requirements and be measured here. “We’ve met all those requirements. “Why are they now talking of going back behind the Lloyds certificate and question the New • Zealand boat?

“What is the San Diego case?

“I accept the certifi-

cates of other 12-metres as being correct, they should accept ours. “The construction of the boat is our business and between us and Lloyds. "Lloyds has laid down the specifications for the rule and we’ve met them.” It was reported here that the Americans want to ensure there is no carbon fibre in the fibreglass sandwich at either end of the boat, and that the New Zealanders had insisted there was none. However, Mr Fay refused to comment on the boat’s construction.

Asked directly whether KZ7 was built light at either end, he replied: “She has a rating certificate, so obviously the answer is no.” Footnote: A 12-metre must be built of the same weight of material throughout the hull. Building a boat light at either end allows it to ride more evenly through the water instead of having the characteristic rockinghorse motion of dipping up and down as it crosses a wave. A boat built lighter at each end would have an obvious advantage.

However, it is widely believed here that rather than just wanting to check on the validity of the construction, the real motive is to find out how the New Zealand boat was built.