Stars and Stripes is plastered in plastic

Press, 13 January 1987, Page 36

Stars and Stripes is plastered in plastic

By

ROBERT LOWE

of NZPA Fremantle America’s Cup contender Stars and Stripes has been racing with a drag-reducing plastic film developed from space research, the Sail America syndicate said yesterday. However, the news came as little surprise to its opponents in the challengers’ final beginning today, the New Zealanders, who said they knew the San Diego 12-metre had been sailing with the film on its hull since last month.

Sail America announced at a news conference here that it was using an experimental film made by the Minne-sota-based company, 3M. A 3M executive, Mr Clem Nelson, said the film was made of thin plastic and had been "micro-grooved” to provide for reduced drag.

The film acted t® reduce flow turbulence, which in turn reduced drag on an object in air or water, he said In a statement

“The idea of a drag reduction film came about when 3M scientists

learned of on-going research by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,” he said. “NJLS.A. had determined that a microgrooved surface provided less drag than a totally smooth surface. "Currently, Boeing ip testing the drag reduction film on a 757 With the first phase of testing scheduled to be completed In early spring of 1387.”

However, the announcement by Sail America was pre-empted by the New Zealand skipper, Chris Dickson,

during an earlier news conference. Dennis Conner, who was also present, had been asked what secret weapons he had in store for the New Zealanders. . Dickson interjected, saying he could ansWer that question. "They’ve got a little bit of a plastic boat themselves,” he said. "They’ve got a plastic coating front 3M. “It doesn’t make it a plastic boat, Dennis, but it’s on its way. "All the boats have tried different coatings and Stars and Stripes

have get a different film from 3M and selfadhesive sheets, about 33 sheets about three feet by one foot. “The film’s actually only about .337 of an inch thick." It has little vshaped grooves on it” Dickson , said the film was used by Stars and Stripes during the third round robin in December. “We’ve already raced Stars and Stripes with . their secret coating on and we beat them in the third round,” he said. “There’s not a lot of secrets out there.

“They certainly don’t provide huge leaps in boat speed.” Dickson said KZ7 had been given its own plastic film, after the New Zealand camp tested a number of products, including 3M’s. While he would not reveal the make of the film applied to KZ7; he said: “It’s not the 3M plastic coating.” Dickson said , changes to KZ7 during the lead-up to the match with Stars and Stripes had made it a more stable boat. • “KZ7 is still much the

same boat she was in the semi-finals,” he said. “We have a lighter mast and we have a slighter heavier keel, so we’ve got a boat with a lot more stability than we had for the last series. “At the same time - we’ve increased our foretriangle a little bit, which means we have slightly bigger genoas, slightly bigger spinnakers and a slightly longer spinnaker pole. . “We’ve a more stable ■boat with a little more sail area.”